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JUN  1 7 198( 


THIS   VOLUME    BELONGS   TO 


721 


THE   SCHOOL 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER 


A   MANUAL 


FOE  THE   USE  OF 


TEACHERS,    EMPLOYERS,   TRUSTEES,    INSPECTORS,    &C.,  &C., 
OF    COMMON    SCHOOLS. 

IN   TWO    PARTS. 


PART    I. 
BY   ALONZO   POTTER,  D.D., 

OF  NEW-YORK. 

PART    II. 
BY    GEORGE    B.    EMERSON,  A.  M., 

OF    MASSACHUSETTS. 


BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED  BY  WM.  B.  FOWLE  &  N.  CAPEN, 

NO.   184   WASHINGTON    ST. 

1843. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1842,  by 

HARPER  &  BROTHERS, 
ID  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  Southern  District  of  New-York. 


ADVERTISEMENT 

TO     THE 

MASSACHUSETTS     EDITION. 


THE  subscriber  has  been  authorized  and  requested  by  a  dis- 
tinguished citizen  of  Boston,  MARTIN  BRIMMER,  Esq.,  the  Mayor 
elect  of  the  city, — (whose  name  is  here  mentioned  to  satisfy  a 
reasonable  public  curiosity,  though  wholly  without  his  consent 
or  knowledge,)  to  cause  an  edition  of  thirty-five  hundred  copies  of 
the  following  work,  entitled  "The  School  and  the  Schoolmaster," 
to  be  printed,  and  to  be  distributed  in  the  following  manner, 
namely, — one  copy  to  each  of  the  Public  Schools  in  the  Com- 
monwealth of  Massachusetts, — and  one  copy  to  each  Board  of 
superintending  school  committee  men. 

It  is  the  desire  of  the  donor  that  these  volumes  shall  be  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the  prudential  committee  men,  or  of  such  other 
persons  as  the  districts  respectively  may  select  as  their  trustees, 
to  be  by  them  loaned  to  the  teachers  who  may  be  successively 
employed  in  the  schools, — and  after  the  same  have  been  read  by 
the  teachers,  then  to  any  inhabitants  of  the  districts  who  may 
wish  to  peruse  them.  It  is  also  his  desire  and  expectation,  that 
the  copies  given  to  the  superintending  school  committees  shall  be 
considered  the  property  of  said  committees,  for  the  time  being, 
and  be  delivered  over  by  each  Board,  at  the  expiration  of  its 
official  term,  to  its  successors  in  office. 

The  range  and  compass  of  the  subjects  embraced  in  this  vol- 
ume, and  the  masterly  manner  in  which  they  are  treated,  com- 
mend it  to  the  careful  perusal  of  every  person  engaged  in  the 
sacred  cause  of  education,  of  every  lover  of  his  country  and  friend 
of  mankind.  The  reputation  of  the  gentlemen  by  whom  it  was 
written  is  a  high  guaranty  of  its  excellence ;  and  it  is  believed 
that  the  more  the  work  is  examined  and  understood,  the  more  will 
it  redound  to  the  credit  of  its  authors. 

It  seems  proper  here  to  state,  that  "  The  School  and  the  School- 
master "  was  originally  prepared  in  compliance  with  the  request, 
and  at  the  expense,  of  that  munificent  friend  and  patron  of  Com- 
mon Schools,  the  HON.  JAMES  WADSWORTH,  of  Geneseo,  New 
York,  by  whom  a  copy  has  been  gratuitously  sent  to  each  district 
school  in  that  State, — almost  eleven  thousand  in  number, — one  to 


each  deputy  superintendent,  one  to  each  of  the  governors  of  the 
several  States,  &c.  &c. 

Although  a  month  has  not  yet  elapsed  since  the  first  edition 
was  issued  from  the  press,  yet  already  is  Massachusetts  the 
second  State,  where  the  liberality  of  a  public-spirited  individual 
has  secured  the  benefits  of  this  admirable  work  to  all  who  are  en- 
gaged in  our  public  schools,  and  to  the  whole  of  the  rising  gene- 
ration. Thus  may  the  States  of  Newr  York  and  Massachusetts 
forever  be  compeers,  if  not  competitors,  in  the  Christian  enter- 
prise of  educating  the  whole  people  ;  and  may  these  distinguished 
public  benefactors,  in  addition  to  the  gratitude  of  their  own 
States,  soon  enjoy  the  happiness  of  seeing  their  example  imi- 
tated in  each  of  the  remaining  States  of  the  Union. 

The  subscriber  avails  himself  of  this  occasion  to  express  an 
earnest  hope,  that  all  teachers,  school  committees  and  friends  of 
education  will  not  only  give  the  work  an  attentive  examination 
themselves,  but  will  commend  it  to  the  attention  of  their  fellow- 
citizens  generally.  In  this  way  may  the  benevolent  purposes  of 
the  donor  be  fully  realized,  the  public  mind  be  enlarged  and 
quickened  on  the  paramount  subject  of  a  universal  education  for 
the  people,  and  the  high  destiny  of  our  nature  be  fulfilled  by  a 
progressive  improvement  in  the  character  and  condition  of  the 
race. 

The  strong  and  sincere  commendation  which  the  subscriber 
gladly  accords  to  the  following  work,  ought  not  to  be  understood 
as  an  unqualified  approval  of  every  sentiment  it  contains.  Pro- 
bably no  two  independent  minds  ever  existed  whose  opinions 
would  perfectly  harmonize  in  regard  to  all  the  particulars  of  so 
comprehensive  a  subject. 

HORACE  MANN, 
Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education. 

Boston,  Dec.  24/A,  1842. 

NOTE.  In  making  up  the  number  of  copies  for  each  of  the 
towns  in  the  Commonwealth,  the  Abstract  of  the  Massachusetts 
School  Returns,  for  the  year  1841-2,  will  be  taken  as  a  direc- 
tory. 


., 


8  xods. 


Highway. 


Plan  of  Grounds,  &e. 


PART    I. 


THE    SCHOOL: 


ITS  OBJECTS,  RELATIONS,  AND  USES. 

WITH   A   SKETCH 
OF  THE 

EDUCATION   MOST   NEEDED    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES,    THE 

PRESENT    STATE    OF    COMMON    SCHOOLS,    THE    BEST 

MEANS   OF   IMPROVING   THEM, 

AND  THE  CONSEQUENT 

DUTIES  OF  PARENTS,  TRUSTEES,  INSPECTORS,  &c. 

BT 
ALONZO    POTTER,  D.D., 

PROFESSOR  OF  MORAL   PHILOSOPHY  IN    UNION  COLLEGE. 


BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED  BY  WM.  B.  FOWLE  &  N.  CAPEN, 

NO.    184   WASHINGTON    ST. 

1843. 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION 1 

CHAPTER   I. 

EDUCATION    OF    THE    PEOPLE. 

SEC.  I.  What  is  Education  1 19 

II.  Prevailing  Errors  in  regard  to  the  Nature  and  End  of 

Education 28 

III.  The  same  Subject  continued         ....  35 

IV.  Same  Subject  continued 50 

V.  What  is  the  Education  most  needed  by  the  American 

People?   .        .        .  •  %    .        .       ,.        /      ,        .64 

VI.  The  Importance  of  Education,.!.  To  the  Individual        .     91 

VII.  "  "  2.  To  Society          .        .111 

CHAPTER   II. 

COMMON    SCHOOLS. 

SEC.  I.  Relation  of  Common  Schools  to  other  Means  of  Educa- 
tion           154 

II.  Present   State   of  Common   Schools.  — I.  Schoolhouses. 

2.  Manners.     3.  Morals  .        .        .       ^. .        .  168 

III.  Same   Subject  continued.  —  4.   Intellectual   Instruction. 

5.  Irregular  Attendance 180 

IV.  How  can  Common  Schools  be  improved  1 — 1.  Discussion. 

2.  Female  Teachers.     3.  Union  or  High  Schools. 

4.  Consolidation  of  Districts 197 

V.  The  Improvement  of  Common  Schools   (continued).     Or- 
ganization in  Cities. — 1.  District  System.    2.  Mon- 
itorial.   3.  Facher  System.    4.  American  System. 

5.  Diversity  of  Class-books 218 

VI.  Same  Subject  continued. — Education  of  Teachers  .        .  236 


INTRODUCTION. 


"  Were  the  benefits  of  civilization  to  be  partial,  not  universal,  it 
would  be  only  a  bitter  mockery  and  cruel  injustice." — DCCHATEL. 

A  LATE  writer  (Lamartine)  has  spoken  of  the  cross  and 
the  press  as  the  instruments  of  the  two  greatest  movements 
ever  made  in  behalf  of  human  civilization.  To  these  may 
be  added  two  other  agents  -of  mighty  power  :  the  steam- 
engine  and  the  common  school.  The  moral  nature  of  man 
can  be  permanently  raised  and  transformed  by  nothing 
short  of  the  benignant  influence  of  Christianity.  His  in- 
tellectual powers  can  be  duly  developed  and  wisely  applied 
only  under  the  guidance  of  knowledge  ;  and  of  knowledge 
the  press  is  now  the  grand  expositor  and  representative. 
To  promote  his  physical  well-being,  we  need  industry ;  and 
of  that  industry  which  subdues  the  earth,  vanquishes  time 
and  space,  and  makes  all  things  tributary  to  man's  conve- 
nience, the  steam-engine  is  unquestionably  the  most  proper 
symbol. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  as  each  of  these  great  powers 
is  necessary  to  the  improvement  of  mankind,  so  each  of 
them  becomes  more  efficient  in  proportion  as  it  co-operates 
with  the  rest.  Christianity  needs  the  press,  the  press 
needs  the  steam-engine ;  and  these,  in  their  turn,  are  safe 
and  beneficent  agents  only  when  they  who  wield  them  are 
animated  and  controlled  by  Christian  principle.  It  is  still 
more  to  our  purpose,  however,  to  observe,  that  no  one  of 
them  can  exert  its  appropriate  influence,  or  dispense  its 
proper  benefits  without  the  aid  of  the  school.  Minds,  for 
instance,  besotted  by  ignorance  and  unaccustomed  to  thought, 

A 


2  INTRODUCTION. 

can  hardly  be  reached  by  the  more  lofty  and  spiritual  ap- 
peals which  are  sent  forth  from  the  cross  of  Christ.  The 
press  must  speak  in  vain  to  those  who  cannot  read,  or  who, 
to  the  mechanical  art  of  interpreting  its  mysterious  symbols, 
have  never  added  habits  of  inquiry,  or  a  desire  for  knowl- 
edge. And  even  industry,  although  it  always  brings  some 
blessings  to  those  whom  it  employs,  can  still  do  compara- 
tively little  for  men  who  alienate  their  higher  natures  when 
they  labour,  or  who  waste  its  fruits  in  sensual  indulgence, 
or  in  mental  vacancy.  It  is  only  in  proportion  as  minds 
are  awakened  by  early  education,  that  they  can  share  in 
the  fruits  of  an  improved  civilization.  To  shut  them  out 
from  the  school,  is  to  deny  them  access  to  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  best  and  noblest  influences,  which  are  supplied 
by  Christianity,  and  by  science  and  the  arts. 

But  if  the  school  is  an  essential  agent  of  civilization,  it  is 
the  Common  School,  that  forms  the  appropriate  agent  of 
modern  and  democratic  civilization — of  that  civilization 
which  aims  at  the  greatest  good  of  the  greatest  number. 
As  this  end  is  peculiar  to  the  social  movements  of  modern 
times,  so  is  the  instrument  which  it  employs.  Schools 
have  always  been  found  in  the  train  of  civilization,  as  the 
only  means  by  which  her  blessings  could  be  preserved  and 
perpetuated ;  but  the  idea  of  schools  which  should  secure 
to  every  human  being,  by  improving  his  mind,  a  substantial 
share  in  the  triumphs  of  Learning,  Liberty,  and  Religion, 
this,  it  is  believed,  was  an  idea  unknown  to  the  wisest  of 
ancient  sages  and  states.  They  wrote  and  speculated  much 
about  education ;  but  it  was  an  education  denied  to  more 
than  four  fifths  of  the  people,  who,  being  barbarians,  were 
born,  according  to  Aristotle,  to  be  slaves,  and  who,  as  slaves, 
were  denied  all  spiritual  as  well  as  civil  rights.  It  was  an 
education,  too,  by  which  the  citizen  was  to  be  moulded  for 
the  exclusive  service  of  the  commonwealth,  rather  than  one 


INTRODUCTION".  3 

which  was  to  unfold  in  due  proportion  all  his  powers,  and 
prepare  him  for  a  course  of  free  and  generous  self-culture. 

In  the  Middle  Ages,  when  education  was  dispensed  in 
monastic  establishments,  and  enjoyed,  for  the  most  part, 
only  by  the  clergy,  we  are  not  to  wonder  that  the  people 
were  in  ignorance.  Even  after  the  revival  of  letters,  and 
when  the  art  of  Printing  had  awakened  the  slumbering  in- 
tellect of  Europe,  little  progress  was  made  in  popular  ed- 
ucation until  the  Bible  had  been  translated  into  living  lan- 
guages, and  the  privilege  of  reading  it  had  come  to  be  reck- 
oned as  one  of  the  most  precious,  among  the  rights  of  the 
Christian  and  the  man.  The  rule  which  was  then  exten- 
sively adopted  in  the  Continental  churches,  of  admitting  no 
one  to  his  first  communion  who  could  not  read  the  Scrip- 
tures, coupled  with  another  rule,  which  made  this  first  com- 
munion necessary  in  ordei^to  qualify  him  for  marriage  or 
any  civil  employment — these  regulations  naturally  served 
to  make  a  certain  degree  of  instruction  universal  through- 
out the  north  of  Europe. 

The  same  religious  and  enlightened  spirit  presided  over 
the  legislation  of  the  early  settlers  of  New-England.  Both 
in  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  it  was  ordained  by  law, 
almost  immediately  after  their  settlement,*  that  the  select- 
men of  the  towns  should  see  that  "  every  parent  or  master 
instructed  the  young  members  of  his  family  (whether  chil- 
dren, apprentices-,  or  servants)  in  so  much  learning  as  would 
enable  them  perfectly  to  read  the  English  tongue  and  have  a 
knowledge  of  the  capital  laws  ;  that  once  a  week  he  should 
catechise  them  in  the  grounds  and  principles  of  religion  ; 
and  that  every  young  person  should  be  carefully  bred  and 
brought  up  to  some  honest,  lawful  calling,  labour,  or  employ- 
ment." It  will  be  observed  that  these  regulations  are,  in 

*  In  Massachusetts  in  1642.  in  Connecticut  in  1650. 


4  INTRODUCTION. 

truth,  more  enlightened  and  comprehensive  than  those  which 
had  been  adopted  in  Europe  at  the  era  of  .the  Reformation. 
In  the  latter,  religious  culture  seems  to  have  been  almost 
the  only  object ;  in  the  former,  it  was  also  an  object  to 
make  enlightened  citizens  capable  of  self-government,  and 
trained  to  habits  of  regular  industry. 

Not  satisfied,  however,  with  these  provisions  for  domestic 
education,  the  inhabitants  soon  proceeded  to  lay  the  founda- 
tion of  that  Common  School  system  which  has  been  so  long 
the  pride  and  strength  of  New-England.  As  early  as  1647, 
only  twenty-seven  years  after  the  landing  of  the  Mayflower 
at  Plymouth,  it  was  enacted  in  Massachusetts,  in  order  that 
"  learning,"  to  use  the  language  of  the  statute,  "  might  not 
be  buried  in  the  graves  of  their  forefathers  both  in  church 
and  commonwealth — that  (the  Lord  assisting  their  endeav- 
ours) in  every  township  containing  fifty  householders  or 
more,  one  should  forthwith  be  appointed  to  teach  such  chil- 
dren as  should  resort  to  him  to  read  and  write  ;  and  that, 
in  any  township  containing  one  hundred  householders,  they 
should  set  up  a  grammar-school  to  fit  youth  for  the  Univer- 
sity." This  law,  planting  elementary  schools  at  the  door  of 
every  family,  was  the  first,  it  is  presumed,  adopted  by  any 
Christian  state,*  and  may  claim  to  be  the  parent  of  much 

*  It  is  somewhat  humiliating  to  reflect,  that  the  earliest  law  on  rec- 
ord, providing  for  the  universal  diffusion  of  school  education,  was  the 
work  of  a  people  whom  we  are  pleased  to  style  barbarians  (the  Chi- 
nese), and  was  in  existence  two  thousand  years  ago.  According  to 
a  late  writer  (Davis),  it  required  that  every  town  and  village,  down 
even  to  a  few  families,  should  have  a  Common  School.  He  also 
states  that  one  of  their  works,  of  a  date  anterior  to  the  Christian 
era,  speaks  of  the  "  ancient  system  of  instruction."  It  is  proper,  how 
ever,  to  add,  that  it  does  not  seem  to  have  been  the  object  of  the 
Chinese,  as  of  the  New-England  system,  to  favour  a  free  and  full 
development  of  man's  nature.  The  studies  are  confined  by  authori- 
ty to  one  unvarying  routine ;  science,  properly  so  called,  is  exclu- 
ded ;  the  spirit  of  spontaneous  inquiry  is  repressed,  and  the  whole  aim 


INTRODUCTION.  5 

of  the  legislation  on  the  subject  of  Popular  Instruction 
which  has  distinguished  the  last  half  century.* 

To  maintain  and  perpetuate  religious  knowledge  among 
the  people  was  evidently  the  chief  object  with  the  framers 
of  these  early  school-laws,  both  in  the  Old  World  and  in 
the  New.  With  some  notion  of  the  importance,  as  well  to 
the  state  as  to  the  individual,  of  a  comprehensive  and  gen- 
erous culture)  which  should  awaken  and  train  all  the  powers 
of  the  soul,  it  is  still  clear  that  they  failed  to  recognise  all 
its  value  in  these  respects.  In  Europe  it  is  now  admitted 
that  the  elementary  education  given  in  obedience  to  these 
regulations  contributed  but  little  to  raise  the  character  of  the 

is  to  make  an  orderly  and  industrious  servant  of  the  state  as  now 
constituted.  To  use  the  language  of  another,  "  the  whole  channel 
of  thought  and  feeling  for  each  generation  is  scooped  out  by  that  which 
preceded  it,  and  the  stream  always  fills,  but  rarely  overflows  its  em- 
bankments." It  is  also  questionable  whether  the  Chinese  schools 
succeed  in  making  the  whole  population  capable,  as  is  sometimes 
said,  of  reading.  According  to  some  missionaries,  many  of  the  in- 
habitants are  unable  to  read  at  all,  and  others  do  it  mechanically,  and 
without  any  perception  of  the  meaning  of  the  author. 
'  *  The  system  of  parochial  schools  in  Scotland  is  sometimes  ap- 
pealed to,  as  the  earliest  example  of  a  legal  provision  for  universal 
education.  The  law,  however,  establishing  these  schools,  was  not 
passed  till  1696,  nearly  50  years  after  the  enactment  of  the  one  in 
Massachusetts ;  and  the  preamble  of  that  law  clearly  shows  that 
the  previous  efforts  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Kirk  of  Scot* 
land,  and  of  the  civil  government  in  behalf  of  Education,  had  failed 
to  make  it  general.  This  preamble  states  that  "  Our  Sovereign 
Lord,  considering  how  prejudicial  the  want  of  schools  in  many  places 
had  been,  and  how  beneficial  the  establishing  and  settling  thereof 
will  be  to  this  church  and  kingdom,  therefore  his  majesty,  with  ad- 
vice and  consent,"  &c.,  and  then  the  act  proceeds  to  order  that  a 
school  be  established  and  a  schoolmaster  appointed  in  every  parish, 
and  that  the  landlords  be  obliged  to  build  a  schoolhouse  and  a 
dwelling-house  for  the  use  of  the  master,  and  that  they  pay  him  a 
certain  salary,  exclusive  of  the  fees  of  the  scholars. 
A2 


6  INTRODUCTION. 

mass  of  the  people.  In  New-England,  much  was  probably 
ascribed  to  schools  which  resulted  from  other  causes,  such 
as  the  animating  influence  of  a  New  World,  with  all  its 
tempting  prizes,  its  numberless  incentives  to  enterprise  and 
forecast,  and  the  opportunities  which  it  afforded,  in  its  po- 
litical and  ecclesiastical  institutions,  for  the  cultivation  and 
gradual  development  of  knowledge  and  power.* 

That  these  schools  have  exercised  a  vast  and  most  happy 
influence,  not  only  over  New-England,  but  over  all  parts  of 
our  country,  is  unquestionable  ;  yet  it  is  evident  that  even  in 
Massachusetts  itself,  the  very  cradle  of  the  system,  their 
unspeakable  importance  has  not  been  duly  appreciated. 
While  wealth  and  population  were  increasing,  and  educa- 
tion, of  course,  was  growing  more  and  more  necessary,  the 
statute-books  of  that  state  show  for  a  long  period  only  a  de- 
clining interest  in  schools.  The  salutary  rigour  of  the 
primitive  laws  was  gradually  relaxed,  till  in  1789  it  was 
ordained  that  common  schools  need  be  maintained  but  six 
months  in  the  year,  and  grammar-schools  only  when  there 
were  two  hundred  householders  in  a  town;  and  in  1824  it 
was  declared,  that  in  towns  having  less  than  FIVE  thousand 
inhabitants,  none  but  a  teacher  of  English  need  be  provided.! 
It  is  grateful  to  add,  however,  that  during  the  last  five  years 
this  downward  course  of  legislation  has  been  arrested,!  and 

i 

*  The  influence  which  our  institutions  exert  (especially  as  they 
unfold  themselves  in  New-England)  in  developing  intelligence,  self- 
control,  and  activity,  has  been  explained  with  great  clearness  and 
accuracy  by  De  Tocqueville.  See  his  Democracy  in  America. 

t  There  was  also  a  provision  in  the  colony  charter  of  Massachu- 
setts, that  towns  of  more  than  500  families  should  support  two  gram- 
mar-schools and  two  writing-schools.  This  provision  disappeared 
in  the  later,  commonly  called  the  province,  charter. 

I  The  testimony  of  the  present  enlightened  secretary  of  the  Board 
of  Education  (in  Massachusetts)  indicates  how  much  the  schools  had 
failed  to  accomplish  their  ends.  Speaking  of  their  state  at  the  time 
of  his  appointment  (1837),  he  says,  "The  Common  School  system 


INTRODUCTION.  7 

that  the  most  enlightened  and  liberal  efforts  are  now  ma- 
king to  raise  the  standard  of  public  instruction  in  that  an- 
cient and  honoured  commonwealth. 

In  our  own  state,  the  Common  School — as  part  of  a  sys- 
tem of  public  instruction,  maintained  and  encouraged  by 
law — is  of  recent  origin.  The  act  establishing  the  Com- 
mon School  Fund,  which  has  formed  the  basis  of  the  sys- 
tem, was  passed  in  1805  ;*  but  no  revenue  was  distributed, 

of  Massachusetts  has  fallen,  into  a  state  of  general  unsoundness  and 
debility ;  a  great  majority  of  the  schoolhouses  are  not  only  ill  adapt- 
ed to  encourage  mental  effort,  but  in  many  cases  are  absolutely 
perilous  to  the  health  and  symmetrical  growth  of  the  children ;  the 
schools  are  under  a  sleepy  supervision ;  many  of  the  most  intelligent 
and  wealthy  of  our  citizens  have  become  estranged  from  their  wel- 
fare ;  and  the  teachers  of  the  schools,  although,  with  very  few  ex- 
ceptions, persons  of  estimable  character  and  of  great  private  worth, 
yet,  in  the  absence  of  all  opportunities  to  qualify  themselves  for  the 
performance  of  the  most  delicate  and  difficult  task  which,  in  the  ar- 
rangements of  Providence,  is  committed  to  human  hands,  are  ne- 
cessarily, and  therefore  without  fault  of  their  own,  deeply  and  wide- 
ly deficient  in  the  two  indispensable  prerequisites  for  their  office, 
viz.,  a  knowledge  «f  the  human  mind  as  the  subject  of  improvement, 
and  a  knowledge  of  the  means  best  adapted  wisely  to  unfold  and  di- 
rect its  growing  faculties." 

*  Ten  years  earlier,  a  temporary  appropriation  ($50,000  annually 
for  five  years)  was  made  "  for  the  encouragement  of  schools."  Ow- 
ing to  the  state  of  the  treasury,  but  about  $150,000  of  this  appropri- 
ation was  realized.  The  statute  was  in  many  respects  imperfect, 
and  was  suffered  to  expire ;  but  it  contained  one  important  princi- 
ple, which  was  afterward  incorporated  with  the  Common  School  sys- 
lem  of  the  state.  This  was,  that  the  supervisors  of  the  counties 
should  distribute  the  amount  of  the  grant  among  the  several  towns, 
and  that  these  towns  should  raise  equal  amounts  by  tax.  By  the 
existing  law,  however,  the  money  is  apportioned  according  to  the 
whole  population ;  by  the  law  of  1795  it  was  distributed  according  to 
the  number  of  taxable  inhabitants.  The  former  is  evidently  the  more 
equitable  and  benevolent  provision  ;  and  it  may  be  doubted  whether 
the  principle  of  it  ought  not  to  be  extended.  The  moneys  granted 
from  the  state  treasury  are  intended  both  to  encourage  and  to  assist 


8  INTRODUCTION. 

nor  was  any  system  organized,  till  ten  years  later.  But 
twenty-seven  years  have  now  elapsed  since  the  organiza- 
tion was  completed,  and  it  is  most  cheering  to  consider,  that 
within  that  brief  space,  ten  thousand  and  five  hundred 
schools  have  been  established  and  supplied  with  school- 
houses  ;  that  nearly  three  millions  of  dollars  are  now  annu- 
ally expended  in  their  support ;  and  that  more  than  five  hun- 
dred thousand  children  are  reported  as  being  under  instruc- 
tion. 

A  fund,  amounting  in  all  to  more  than  five  millions  of  dol- 
lars, is  held  sacred  by  the  state  for  their  use,  and  the  an- 
nual revenue  of  this  fund,  together  with  an  equal  sum  raised 
by  taxation,  is  dispensed  each  year  among  all  the  School 
Districts  of  the  state,  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  chil- 
dren within  the  bounds  of  each,  and  on  condition,  that  the 
school  is  kept  open  four  months  in  the  year,  by  a  teacher 
who  has  been  duly  examined  and  licensed.  That  these 
schools  have  exerted  a  great  and  beneficial  influence  can 
hardly  be  doubted.  In  1816,*  when  the  first  returns  were 

the  people  in  educating  their  children.  In  both  respects,  it  is  often 
more  needed,  and  would  prove  more  useful,  in  sparsely  settled  dis- 
tricts, where  the  inhabitants  are  generally  poor,  than  in  districts 
which  are  rich  and  populous.  It  may  be  doubted,  too,  whether  the  dis- 
tribution should  not  be  so  regulated  as  to  stimukle  improvement,  both 
in  the  attendance  of  scholars  and  in  the  qualifications  of  teachers. 
By  the  present  law,  the  amount  apportioned  to  a  town  depends  on 
the  whole  population  ;  the  amount  apportioned  to  a  district  depends 
on  the  number  of  children  in  said  district  over  Jive  and  under  sixteen 
years  of  age.  Would  it  not  be  an  improvement  if,  leaving  the  ap- 
portionment to  the  towns  as  it  is,  the  amount  allowed  to  the  districts 
were  according  to  the  actual  attendance  at  school  for  any  given 
period ! 

*  The  present  Common  School  system  owes  its  organization  to 
a  law  passed  in  1811,  authorizing  the  governor  to  appoint  five  com- 
missioners, to  report  to  the  next  Legislature  a  system  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  Common  Schools,  and  the  distribution  of  the  interest 
of  the  School  Fund.  These  commissioners  reported  on  the  4th  of 


INTRODUCTION.  9 

made,  one  fifth  of  all  the  children  in  the  state,  between  the 
ages  of  5  and  16,  were  not  in  attendance  ;  whereas,  in  1839, 
but  one  eightieth  part  of  the  whole  were  in  that  condition.* 
And  while  this  system  has  been  thus  rapidly  extending  in 
our  own  state,  similar  systems  have  been  rising,  both  in 
the  new  states  of  the  West,  and  in  several  of  the  older  ones 
on  the  Atlantic  coast.  By  law,  one  thirty-sixth  part  of  all 
lands  owned  by  the  General  Government,  within  the  limits 
of  the  new  states,  is  reserved  for  the  support  of  common 
schools,  besides  large  tracts  which  are  appropriated  to 
academies  and  colleges ;  and  thus  provision  is  made  that 
population,  as  it  moves  westward,  shall  carry  education  in  its 
train,  and  be  kept  in  constant  contact  with  the  genial  influ- 
ences of  knowledge  and  civilization. 

A  similar  movement  in  favour  of  the  universal  diffusion 
of  knowledge  by  means  of  schools,  has  been  made  through- 
out a  large  part  of  Europe.  Systems  which  had  been  grad- 
ually maturing  for  the  last  two  centuries — some  under  the 
auspices  of  governments,  and  some  through  private  benefi- 
cence— but  which  were  still  incomplete  and  unorganized, 
have  at  length  been  thoroughly  digested,  and  have  become 
more  or  less  incorporated  with  the  state.  In  Europe,  the 
whole  subject  of  education — from  that  dispensed  in  the  pri- 
mary school  to  that  which  is  imparted  in  the  university — is 
placed  under  the  supervision  of  some  public  functionary; 
and  by  such  means,  the  powerful  aid  of  the  government  is 
employed  in  sustaining,  directing,  and  stimulating  the  ener- 
gies of  the  people,  and  the  liberality  of  the  benevolent.  At 

February,  1812 ;  and  on  the  19th  of  the  following  June  an  act  was 
passed,  providing  for  the  appointment  of  a  superintendent,  and  the 
organization  of  a  system  substantially  the  same  as  the  one  now  in 
force. 

*  See  the  able  report  of  the  superintendent  for  1840 — Table 
marked  D. 


10  INTRODUCTION. 

this  moment,  provisions  adequate  to  the  elementary  instruc- 
tion of  all  the  children  in  the  land,  exist  not  only  in  Prus- 
sia, but  also  in  Holland,  in  Saxony,  Austria,  and  all  the  other 
states  of  Germany ;  in  France,  Switzerland,  Denmark, 
Sweden,  and  Norway.  Even  in  Russia,  so  long  the  abode 
of  barbarism,  and  associated  now,  in  most  minds,  with  little 
of  refinement  or  civilization,  a  system  of  universal  educa- 
tion is  in  the  course  of  construction ;  and  already  the  ge- 
nial influence  of  the  District  School  is  enjoyed  in  unhappy 
Poland,  in  the  dreary  wastes  of  Siberia,  and  in  the  wild  and 
inhospitable  regions  beyond  Mount  Caucasus.*  Indeed,  the 
time  seems  to  have  arrived — let  the  Christian  and  the  phi- 
lanthropist hail  it  with  joy — when  the  great  truth,  so  long 
overlooked  by  statesmen  and  philosophers,  is  to  be  univer- 
sally recognised  throughout  the  most  enlightened  parts  of 
Christendom — the  truth  that  all  are  entitled  to  a  share  in 
the  great  heritage  of  knowledge  and  thought — that  the  de- 
velopment of  his  faculties  by  scholastic  culture  is  a  right 
which  belongs  to  every  human  being,  and  that  it  is  not  more 
the  duty  of  governments  to  recognise  and  protect  this  right, 
than  it  is  their  interest  to  cherish  and  extend  it. 

Nor  is  this  all.  The  last  fifty  years  have  witnessed  an- 
other movement  in  regard  to  popular  education,  scarcely  less 
cheering.  It  was  once  thought  sufficient,  if  schools  were 
established  and  maintained.  But  it  is  now  known  that  all 
this  may  be  accomplished,  and  yet  little  be  really  achieved 
for  the  cause  of  human  improvement.  That  schools  may, 
in  some  cases,  be  substantially  useless  and  inoperative — 
that  in  others,  they  may  be  employed  by  a  despotic  govern- 
ment as  convenient  agents  for  keeping  aloof  the  spirit  of 
change  and  advancement — and  that  in  others,  again,  they 
may,  by  a  too  exclusive  cultivation  of  the  intellect  and  by 

*  See  the  report  of  Prof.  Stowe  on  the  State  of  Education  in  Eu- 
rope. 


INTRODUCTION.  1 1 

ministering  to  the  lower  propensities,  train  up  a  factious 
and  disorganizing  spirit — these  are  sad  but  momentous 
truths,  which  have  at  last  forced  themselves  on  the  atten- 
tion of  the  friends  of  humanity.  It  has  been  discovered, 
too,  that  everything  human  tends  to  degenerate,  and  that  a 
system  of  public  instruction,  however  perfect,  can  be  upheld 
in  its  vigour  and  excellence,  only  by  unceasing  vigilance. 
A  profound  conviction  of  all  this  has  led  to  the  cultivation 
of  a  new  art,  and,  it  may  be  added,  to  the  formation  of  a 
new  science. 

Elementary  teaching,  which,  it  was  once  supposed,  might 
be  intrusted  to  any  one,  and  which  was,  in  fact,  usually 
committed  (would  that  such  were  no  longer  the  case)  only 
to  those  whom  physical  infirmity  had  rendered  unequal  to 
every  other  employment,  is  now  beginning  to  be  regarded 
as  an  an  requiring  skill  and  address,  and  as  implying,  also, 
an  active  exercise  of  the  moral  sentiments  and  affections. 
It  is  discovered  that  pedagogy  (as  the  Germans,  by  whom 
its  principles  have  been  most  thoroughly  investigated,  term 
it)  is  a  science  founded  on  the  nature  of  man,  and  to  be  de- 
duced as  well  from  the  study  of  that  nature  as  from  the  col- 
lective experience  of  mankind  ;  that  if  it  be  absurd  for  a 
man  to  practise  medicine  or  law,  without  any  special  in- 
struction and  training  preparatory  to  his  profession,  so  is  it 
absurd  in  itself — fraught  with  danger  to  the  subject,  and 
with  presumption  in  the  operator — for  one  to  attempt  to  de- 
velop, inform,  and  guide  the  faculties  of  a  child  without 
previous  preparation.  In  connexion  with  improved  meth- 
ods of  training  teachers,  there  have  been  adopted  more  ef- 
fectual means  of  supervising  their  labours,  and  of  securing 
for  them  the  co-operation  of  the  public  as  well  as  the  pow- 
erful aid  of  the  government.  Thus  has  arisen,  in  most  of 
the  countries  of  central  Europe,  a  new  branch  of  social  sci- 
ence— one  which  occupies  a  prominent  place  in  the  eyes 
of  the  statesman,  as  well  as  in  those  of  the  philosopher. 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

The  end  of  public  instruction  is  no  longer  merely  to  have 
schools,  but  to  have  good  schools ;  schools  which  shall  be 
sure  to  awaken  mind  and  cultivate  good  principles — which 
shall  be  imbued  with  the  spirit  alike  of  progress  and  of  con- 
servatism— which  shall  contain  within  themselves  the  ele- 
ments of  permanent  improvement,  and  be  the  perennial 
sources  of  a  healthy  and  powerful  influence  to  those  whom 
they  train. 

In  this  great  and  benignant  reform  the  people  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  have  shared  but  partially.  Though  we  are  more 
dependant  on  education  for  our  welfare  than  any  other  na- 
tion, it  is  still  a  melancholy  truth  that  some  of  the  most  ar- 
bitrary governments  of  Europe  have  done  more,  within  the 
last  half  century,  to  provide  good  schools  and  good  teachers 
for  their  subjects,  than  has  been  done  by  the  free  people  of 
this  land,  to  make  a  similar  provision  for  themselves.  We 
are  not  left,  however,  without  some  grounds  of  encourage- 
ment. In  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  where  the  Com- 
mon School  system  first  saw  the  light,  Central  Boards  have 
been  instituted  under  the  eye  of  the  State  Governments,  and 
have  been  charged  with  the  duty  of  awakening  a  new  and 
more  general  interest  on  the  subject  of  primary  education 
among  the  people,  and  of  leading  them  to  the  adoption  of 
more  uniform  and  efficient  methods.  A  gentleman  of  ardent 
zeal  and  enlightened  views  has  also  been  appointed  in  each 
of  those  states,  as  well  as  in  others,  to  carry  out  these  plans 
by  personal  visitation  and  addresses,  as  well  as  through  the 
medium  of  the  press,  and  by  assembling  the  people  of  dif- 
ferent districts  for  mutual  conference.  In  New- York — be- 
sides measures,  recently  adopted  for  training  teachers  and 
establishing  School  District  Libraries,  which  have  been  pro- 
ductive of  the  happiest  results — a  new  element  of  vigour  and 
improvement  has  been  introduced  within  the  last  year,  in 
the  appointment  of  a  Deputy  Superintendent  of  Common 
Schools  for  each  county.  In  the  mean  time,  the  press  ev 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

erywhere  teems  with  the  most  earnest  and  searching  dis- 
cussion of  all  subjects  which  have  a  bearing  on  the  welfare 
of  schools  ;*  and  though  the  experienced  observer  may  see 
much  in  these  discussions  which  is  crude  and  visionary, 
they  still  show  that  the  public  mind  is  awake,  and  that  it  is 
bent  on  improvement. 

It  would  seem,  then,  that  we  have  reached  a  most  inter- 
esting era  in  the  progress  of  popular  education.  With  us, 
the  people  are  now  addressing  themselves  to  the  work  of 
regenerating  and  perfecting  their  own  schools.  What,  in 
other  countries,  has  been  accomplished  mainly  by  the  strong 
arm  of  law,  is  to  be  accomplished  here  (if  at  all)  by  the  vol- 
untary action  of  parents  and  citizens,  aided  and  superintend- 
ed by  the  state  ;  and  in  no  work  more  important,  or  fraught 
with  more  eventful  consequences,  were  we  ever  called  to 
enlist.  Did  our  fathers  assert  successfully  and  triumphant- 
ly our  national  independence,  it  was  chiefly  because  they 
had  been  fitted  for  the  arduous  and  high  task  by  the  nurtu- 
ring influence  of  schools  and  churches.  Did  they  and  their 
successors  lay  deep  and  broad  the  foundations  of  our  free- 
dom and  prosperity,  and  rear  with  surpassing  skill  and 
prudence  the  structure  of  constitutional  law,  it  must  be 
attributed,  in  great  part,  to  the  same  causes.  An  uneduca- 
ted, undisciplined  people,  leave  no  such  monuments  of  wis- 
dom and  patriotism  behind  them.  Is  it  to  be  expected, 

*  More  has  probably  been  written  on  the  subject  of  education 
within  the  last  fifty  years,  than  during  all  previous  time.  Another 
fact  is  also  worthy  of  notice,  as  significant  of  the  change  which  has 
passed  over  the  opinions  of  mankind  on  this  subject.  Formerly, 
when  writers  treated  of  education,  they  had  reference  only  to  "  our 
noble  and  gentle  youth,"  as  Milton  terms  them ;  to  those  who  were 
intended  for  the  higher  walks  of  life.  This  was  the  case  with 
Locke,  Fenelon,  Ascham,  and  with  Milton  himself.  It  is  only  within 
the  last  century  that  we  find  education  proper,  i.  e.,  the  education  of 
the  whole  people,  made  the  subject  of  prominent  discussion. 

B 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

then,  that  a  people  uneducated  and  undisciplined  can  long 
preserve  these  monuments,*  or  can  ever  reap  the  appropri- 
ate fruits  of  our  institutions  and  our  privileges  ?  Nothing 
is  now  needed  to  make  our  heritage  as  blessed  in  reality  as 
it  is  in  promise  but  refined  habits,  stern  principles  of  virtue, 
and  an  enlightened  appreciation,  diffused  among  all  our  peo- 
ple, of  our  responsibilities  and  powers.  It  is  superfluous  to 
add,  that  such  principles  are  not  to  be  developed  except  by 
culture.  To  expect  that  men  will  become  wise,  virtuous, 
or  happy  by  mere  accident,  or  without  specific  exertions  di- 
rected to  these  ends,  is  to  expect  that  this  world's  history 
is  to  be  reversed,  and  that  its  future  will  give  the  lie  to  all 
its  past.  "  Vice,"  says  Seneca,  "  we  can  learn  ourselves, 
but  virtue  and  wisdom  require  a  tutor." 

This  volume  is  a  contribution  to  the  great  work  of  school 
regeneration  which  is  now  in  progress.  It  is  offered  with 
a  deep  sense,  not  only  of  the  importance,  but  also  of  the  dif- 
ficulty of  the  undertaking.  It  is  offered  in  the  hxunble  but 
earnest  hope  of  being  able  to  afford  some  suggestions  which 
will  prove  useful,  not  only  to  teachers,  but  also  to  parents,  in- 
spectors, school  commissioners,  and  other  officers,  as  well 
as  to  the  friends  of  education  generally.  During  the  last 
thirty  years  there  has  been  much  discussion,  as  well  as  ex- 
periment, in  regard  to  different  systems  of  public  instruction. 
The  best  methods  of  providing  well-qualified  teachers,  the 
relative  efficacy  of  different  modes  of  teaching  and  disci- 
pline, and  the  surest  means  of  maintaining  schools  in  a 
healthy  and  efficient  state,  have  all  been  subjects  of  exam- 
ination. It  will  be  the  object  of  this  volume,  avoiding  mere 

*  William  Penn,  himself  a  scholar,  legislator,  and  philanthropist, 
thus  announces,  in  his  "  Frame  of  Government,"  the  fundamental 
principle  of  a  free  people :  "  That  which  makes  a  good  government." 
says  he,  "  must  keep  it  so,  viz.,  men  of  wisdom  and  virtue  propagar 
ted  by  a  virtuous  education  of  youth." 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

conjecture  or  speculation,  to  collect  such  results  and  prin- 
ciples, as  may  seem  to  have  been  settled  by  the  experience 
of  the  past.  It  will  also  aim  at  the  cultivation,  among  all 
who  are  connected  with  schools,  of  a  more  adequate  sense 
of  their  importance,  and  of  a  spirit  of  improvement  and  re- 
form at  once  active  and  chastened. 

It  consists  of  Two  PARTS. 

The  FIRST  PART  will  treat  of, 

I.  THE  EDUCATION  OF  THE  PEOPLE  ;  its  nature,  object, 
importance,  practicability,  means,  &c. 

II.  THE  COMMON  SCHOOL  ;  its  relation  to  other  means 
of  education,  and  to  civilization. 

III.  THE  PRESENT  STATE  OF  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 

IV.  MEANS  OF  IMPROVEMENT. 

Schenectady,  July,  1842. 


EDUCATION    OF  THE   PEOPLE. 


B2 


PART    I. 

CHAPTER  I. 
THE   EDUCATION   OF   THE   PEOPLE. 

SECTION  I. 

WHAT  IS  EDUCATION  ? 

"  I  call  that  education  which  embraces  the  culture  of  the  whole 
man,  with  all  his  faculties — subjecting  his  senses,  his  understanding, 
and  his  passions  to  reason,  to  conscience,  and  to  the  evangelical 
laws  of  the  Christian  revelation." — DE  FELLENBEKG. 

THE  term  Education*  when  employed  in  its  primitive 
and  literal  signification,  means  the  drawing  out  or  develop- 
ment of  the  human  faculties.  When  we  look  on  a  child, 
we  perceive  at  once  that,  besides  corporeal  organs  and 
powers,  he  has  a  spiritual  nature.  In  these  organs  them- 
selves, with  their  ceaseless  hut  not  unmeaning  activity,  we 
see  evidence  that  this  little  being  has  intelligence,  sensi- 
bility, and  will.  Such  powers  exist  in  early  infancy  but  as 
germes,  which  are  destined,  however,  to  burst  forth,  and 
which,  like  the  vegetating  powers  of  the  seed  that  we  have 
planted,  are  ready  to  be  directed  and  controlled  by  us,  al- 
most at  our  will.  As  we  can  train  up  to  a  healthy  and 
graceful  maturity  the  young  plant,  which,  if  neglected,  would 
have  proved  unsightly  and  sterile,  so  can  we  train  up  in  the 
way  he  should  go  that  child,  who,  if  left  to  himself,  would 
have  been  almost  certain  to  be  vicious  and  ignorant.  It  is 
the  peculiar  pliability  and  impressibility  of  this  early  period 
of  life,  that  give  it  such  claims  on  the  educator.f  When 

*  From  the  Latin  words  e  and  duco,  to  lead  or  draw  out  of. 

t  "  Certainly,"  says  Lord  Bacon,  "  custom  is  most  perfect  when 


20  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

habit  has  once  fastened  itself  on  the  intellect  and  the  heart, 
appeals  and  influences  are  comparatively  powerless.  In 
whatever  degree,  then,  it  may  be  our  interest  and  duty  to 
promote  the  welfare  of  our  fellow-creatures,  and  especially 
of  our  own  children,  in  the  same  degree  does  it  become 
important,  that  we  lose  no  portion  of  that  which  is  the  pre- 
cious seedtime  of  their  lives.  Hardly  any  season  is  too 
early  for  the  culture  of  this  soil ;  and  if  it  would  be  reckon- 
ed the  height  of  guilt  to  refuse  food  or  raiment  to  the  body 
of  a  helpless  little  one,  what  must  we  think  of  that  cruel 
neglect  which  leaves  its  nobler  nature  to  pine,  and  finally 
to  perish,  for  lack  of  knowledge  ?  Educated  in  one  sense 
this  child  will  be — if  not  for  weal,  then  for  wo  ! 

"  For  nature,  crescent,  does  not  grow  alone 
In  thews  and  bulk ;  but  as  this  temple  waxes, 
The  inward  service  of  the  mind  and  soul 
Grows  wide  withal." 

It  is  for  the  parent  and  guardian  to  decide  what  character 
this  development  shall  take. 

The  power  of  education  we  are  not  disposed  to  overrate. 
It  has  sometimes  been  described,  even  by  wise  men,  as  an 
all-prevailing  agent,  which  can  "  turn  the  minds  of  children 
as  easily  this  way  or  that,  as  water  itself,"*  and  before 

it  beginneth  in  young  years ;  this  we  call  education,  which  is,  in  effect, 
but  an  early  custom.  So  we  see  in  languages,  the  tongue  is  more 
pliant  to  all  expressions  and  sounds ;  the  joints  are  more  supple  to 
all  feats  of  activity  and  motions  in  youth  than  afterward ;  for  it  is 
true,  that  late  learners  cannot  so  well  take  the  ply,  except  it  be  in 
some  minds  that  have  not  suffered  themselves  to  fix,  but  they  kept 
their  minds  open  and  prepared  to  receive  continual  amendment, 
which  is  exceeding  rare." 

*  This  is  the  language  of  Locke  in  his  Treatise  on  Education. 
In  another  passage  he  says,  "  I  think  I  may  say,  that  of  all  thrmen 
we  meet  with,  nine  parts  out  of  ten  are  what  they  are,  good  or  evil, 
useful  or  not,  by  their  education.  It  is  this  which  makes  the 
great  difference  in  mankind,  and  in  their  manners  and  abilities." 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  21 

which  all  original  differences  may  be  made  to  disappear. 
It  seems  to  us,  that  a  slight  acquaintance  with  children  is 
sufficient  to  refute  this  theory.  Even  when  reared  in  the 
same  family  and  subjected  to  the  same  course  of  physical 
and  moral  training,  children  exhibit,  amid  a  general  resem- 
blance in  manners  and  principles,  the  greatest  diversity  in 
endowments  and  disposition.  It  is  evidently  not  to  be  de- 
sired, that  all  men  and  women  should  be  cast  in  the  same 
intellectual  more  than  in  the  same  corporeal  mould;  and 
hence,  though  compounded  of  the  same  primitive  elements, 
these  elements  have  been  so  variously  mingled  and  com- 
bined, that  each  individual  has  his  own  peculiar  and  inde- 
structible nature,  as  well  as  his  own  sphere  of  action — that 
thus  every  place  and  calling  can  be  filled.  As  this  variety, 
then,  exists,  and  can  never  be  entirely  effaced,  it  ought  to  be 
respected  in  education. 

But  does  it  follow  that  the  work  of  education  is  therefore 
slight  or  unimportant  ?  While  we  are  bound  to  take  the 
individual  as  he  is,  and  having  ascertained  his  peculiar  type 
of  character  and  measure  of  capacity,  to  keep  these  ever  in 
view,  is  there  not  still  a  vast  work  to  be  accomplished  ?  It 
is  the  business  of  education,  to  watch  the  dormant  powers 
and  foster  their  healthy  and  well-proportioned  growth,  re- 
straining and  repressing  where  their  natural  activity  is  too 
great,  and  stimulating  them  when  they  are  too  feeble.  To 
respect  each  one's  individuality  is  not  only  consistent  with 

In  a  practical  work,  which  aimed  at  convincing  men  that  much 
greater  care  ought  to  be  taken  in  the  education  of  youth,  this  was 
an  error  on  the  right  side.  It  is  not  likely  that  the  bulk  of  mankind 
will,  in  practice,  ever  exaggerate  the  efficacy  of  care  and  culture. 
But,  among  theorists  and  philanthropists,  the  error  is  fraught  with 
bad  consequences.  It  leads  them  to  undervalue  the  experience  of 
the  past,  and  to  expect  too  much  from  new  plans  of  training  and 
instruction,  and  to  vary  those  plans  too  frequently. 


22  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

this  great  work,  but  is  indispensable  to  its  highest  success 
Doing  so,  we  can  effect  vast  changes  and  improvements 
in  character.  The  sluggish  we  may  not  be  able  to  inspire 
with  great  vivacity,  nor  subdue  the  ardent  and  enthusiastic 
to  the  tone  of  a  calm  and  calculating  spirit.  But  we  can 
arrest  in  each  dangerous  tendencies ;  in  each  we  can  cor- 
rect mental  obliquities  and  distortions,  and  cultivate  a  healthy 
and  self-improving  power.  We  can  study  the  purposes  of 
the  Creator  in  framing  such  a  mind,  and  strive  wisely,  as 
well  as  unceasingly,  to  fulfil  those  purposes.  In  one  word, 
we  can  labour  to  rear  this  child,  yet  without  fixed  charac- 
ter or  compacted  energies,  to  the  stature  of  a  perfect  man 
or  woman.  As  one  star  differeth  from  another  star  in  mag- 
nitude and  splendour,  though  each  in  its  appointed  place  be 
equally  perfect,  so  in  the  intellectual  and  spiritual  firmament 
one  mind  may  outshine  another,  and  yet  both  alike  be  per- 
fect in  their  sphere,  and  in  fulfilling  the  mission  assigned 
them  by  God. 

Milton  has  called  that  "  a  complete  and  generous  edu- 
cation which  fits  a  man  to  perform  justly,  skilfully,  and 
magnanimously,  all  the  offices,  both  private  and  public,  of 
peace  and  of  war."  It  is  evident  that  such  an  education  can 
be  enjoyed  by  few ;  and  that,  though  enjoyed  by  all,  it  would 
bestow,  on  but  a  limited  number,  the  lofty  capacities  indica- 
ted by  the  great  poet.  A  vast  proportion  of  the  walks  of 
human  life  are  humble  and  sheltered.  Let  us  be  grateful, 
however,  that  while  in  such  walks  we  escape  the  fiery  trials 
which  await  those  who  tread  the  high  places  of  earth,  they 
still  afford  scope  and  opportunity  for  the  exercise  of  the 
most  manly  and  generous  qualities.  He  may  be  great, 
both  intellectually  and  morally,  who  has  filled  no  distin- 
guished "  office,"  either  "  of  peace  or  of  war."  Let  it  rath- 
er be  our  object,  then,  in  rearing  the  young,  to  form  a  perfect 
character — to  build  up  a  spirit  of  which  all  must  say,  as  was 
said  of  Brutus  by  Antony, 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  23 

"  His  life  was  gentle,  and  the  elements 
So  mixed  in  him,  that  Nature  might  stand  up, 
And  say  to  all  the  world,  This  was  a  man  !" 


Such,  then,  in  general,  is  the  object  of  education.  Let 
us  be  more  particular.  The  child  comes  into  life  ignorant 
and  imbecile.  With  faculties  which,  duly  trained,  fit  him  to 
traverse  the  universe  of  truth,  he  yet  begins  his  course  a 
helpless  stranger.  To  him,  this  universe  is  all  a  mighty 
maze,  without  a  plan.  He  is  a  stranger  alike  to  himself, 
to  the  world,  and  to  God.  But  daily  his  faculties  open  ;  his 
intellectual  eye  begins  to  turn  towards  the  light  of  truth,  as 
his  organic  eye  turns  towards  the  sunbeam  that  falls  across 
his  chamber.  His  senses,  those  fleet  messengers,  carry  to 
him  constant  intelligence  from  the  world  without.  Soon  he 
comes  to  remember  and  compare  these  reports — to  reason 
and  resolve.  His  mind  now  yearns  after  more  knowledge. 
Through  the  livelong  day,  save  when  tired  nature  claims 
repose,  he  is  busy  seeking,  or  receiving  with  unexpected 
delight,  new  accessions  of  truth.  All  the  while  his  facul- 
ties of  memory  and  comparison — of  judgment  and  abstrac- 
tion— of  generalization  and  inference,  are  in  exercise  ;  and, 
though  no  book  opens  its  mysterious  light  upon  his  under- 
standing, nor  living  voice  pours  into  his  ear  the  fruits  of 
another's  experience  and  knowledge,  he  is  still  for  himself 
a  learner. 

Yet  such  a  progress — which  is  only  instinctive  and  spon- 
taneous— plainly  needs  direction,  and  will,  if  left  to  itself, 
soon  reach  its  utmost  limit.  The  forlorn  condition  of  the 
untutored  deaf  mute  shows  how  meager  and  deceptive  are 
the  attainments  of  every  unaided  mind ;  and,  even  where 
such  a  barrier  has  not  been  interposed  by  nature,  we  find 
that  those  who  have  been  left  without  formal  instruction 
soon  become  stationary,  and  that  their  minds  are  crowded 
with  errors  and  prejudices.  It  is  the  province  of  education 


24  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

(t.  e.,  of  a  system  of  training  and  tuition  conducted  by  rule) 
to  take  this  restless  spirit,  rejoicing  in  the  consciousness  of 
its  awakened  powers  and  thirsting  for  knowledge,  and  to  con- 
duct it,  for  a  time,  along  the  straight  path  of  true  wisdom. 
For,  why  was  that  spirit,  in  the  very  outset  of  its  course, 
made  so  helpless  1  Why  was  it  deprived  of  those  instincts 
which  conduct  the  inferior  animals,  infallibly,  to  their  be- 
ing's end  and  aim  ?  Why  attached  for  months  to  a  mother's 
breast,  and  afterward  sheltered  and  kept  in  life  and  health 
only  by  unceasing  vigilance  and  care  ?  Why,  but  to  en- 
gage all  a  parent's  energies  in  its  nurture  and  full  develop- 
ment ;  or,  rather,  why,  but  to  engage  them  in  fitting  it  for 
the  unending  work  of  self-development  1  The  brute  needs 
but  a  few  powers,  for  it  has  but  few  wants,  and  they  are  to 
last  but  a  few  years.  Man  has  wants  and  desires  as  bound- 
less as  his  own  immortality. 

To  educate  the  intellect,  then,  is  to  so  unfold,  direct,  and 
strengthen  it,  that  it  shall  be  prepared  to  be,  through  all  its 
future  course,  a  zealous  and  successful  seeker  after  truth. 
It  is  to  give  it  control  of  its  own  powers,  and  to  teach  it  to- 
wards what  those  powers  should  be  directed.  .  It  is  to  en 
dow  it  by  practice  with  the  ability  to  collect  its  energies  at 
will,  and  to  fix  them  long  on  one  point.  It  is  to  train  the 
senses  to  observe  accurately ;  the  memory  to  register  care- 
fully and  recall  readily ;  the  reason  to  compare,  reflect,  and 
judge  without  partiality  or  passion.  It  is  to  infuse  into  the 
soul  a  principle  of  enduring  activity  and  curiosity,  such  that 
it  shall  ever  be  awake  in  quest  of  light,  never  counting  it- 
self to  have  apprehended,  but  pressing  continually  forward 
towards  higher  truths  and  a  larger  knowledge. 

Again,  man  begins  life  without  virtue.  He  has  propensi- 
ties that  urge  him  to  self-gratification,  affections  that  impel 
him  to  gratify  others,  and  moral  instincts  that  incline  him  to 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  25 

duty.  But,  left  to  himself  and  without  culture,  his  propen- 
sities predominate ;  the  affections  spend  themselves  in  ca- 
pricious acts  of  kindness  or  charity ;  and  the  moral  instincts 
raise,  without  effect,  their  solemn  and  monitory  voice.  It 
is  the  office  of  moral  education  to  harmonize  these  contend- 
ing and  irregular  powers,  by  restoring  conscience  to  its 
rightful  authority,  and  by  replacing  unreflecting  impulses 
with  fixed  and  enlightened  principles.  It  is  its  business  to 
cultivate  habits  which  make  man  master  of  himself,  and 
which  enable  him,  even  when  pressed  by  fierce  temptation, 
to  prefer  loss,  disgrace,  and  death  itself,  before  dishonour. 
"  The  great  principle  and  foundation  of  all  virtue,"  says 
Locke,  "  lies  in  this :  that  a  man  is  able  to  deny  himself 
his  own  desires,  cross  his  own  inclinations,  and  purely  fol- 
low what  reason  directs  as  best,  though  the  appetite  lean 
the  other  way." 

Again,  man  begins  life  without  taste.  Through  his  sen- 
ses, he  is  early  attracted  and  charmed  by  what  he  terms 
beautiful.  As  he  advances  in  years,  these  impressions, 
made  by  outward  objects,  blend  themselves  with  remem- 
brances of  the  past,  and  with  creations  of  the  mind  itself. 
The  result  is  seen  in  conceptions  which  bear  away  the 
soul  from  the  imperfections  and  trials  of  actual  life,  to  a 
world  of  imagined  purity,  beauty,  and  bliss.  Now,  in  the 
untutored  mind,  these  conceptions  are  rude  and  often  un- 
couth. It  is  the  province  of  education  to  give  them  form 
and  symmetry — to  teach  the  true  difference  between  beau- 
ty and  deformity — to  inspire  a  love  for  simple  excellence 
in  literature  and  art,  as  well  as  a  taste  for  the  beauties  and 
sublimities  of  nature — and,  finally,  to  awaken  a  profound 
reverence  for  moral  grandeur,  and  thus  kindle  aspirations 
after  glory,  honour,  and  immortality. 

Finally,  man  begins  life  without  physical  vigour.     Nei- 
C 


26  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

tlier  his  intellectual  nor  his  moral  powers  can  hold  inter- 
course with,  or  act  upon  the  world  without,  except  through 
material  organs.  And  in  our  present  state,  these  organs  are 
also  necessary  to  the  soul,  even  in  its  more  spiritual  opera- 
tions ;  and  they  weigh  it  down  to  imbecility  whenever  they 
become  greatly  diseased  or  enfeebled.  Mark  how  a  Cae- 
sar quails  before  this  foe  ! 

"  He  had  a  fever  when  he  was  in  Spain, 
And  when  the  fit  was  on  him,  I  did  mark 
How  he  did  shake ;  'tis  true,  this  god  did  shake  : 
His  coward  lips  did  from  their  colour  fly  ; 
And  that  same  eye,  whose  bend  doth  awe  the  world, 
Did  lose  his  lustre  :  I  did  hear  him  groan  ; 
Ay,  and  that  tongue  of  his,  that  bade  the  Romans 
Mark  him,  and  write  his  speeches  in  their  books, 
Alas  !  it  cried,  Give  me  some  drink,  Titinius, 
As  a  sick  girl." 

Hence  the  unspeakable  importance  of  physical  education, 
which  teaches  us  how  to  guard  against  many  diseases,  how 
to  maintain  and  improve  the  vigour  of  our  bodies,  and  how 
to  develop  and  perfect  the  delicacy  of  our  senses. 

Do  we  ask,  then,  What  is  Education,  or  what,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  Milton,  is  a  "  virtuous  and  noble  education  ?"  The 
answer  is  ready.  It  is,  whatever  tends  to  train  up  to  a 
healthy  and  graceful  activity  our  mental  and  bodily  powers, 
our  affections,  manners,*  and  habits.  It  is  the  business,  of 

*  The  cultivation  of  manners  is  not  sufficiently  regarded  in  oui 
systems  of  popular  education.  The  following  remarks  of  an  English 
manufacturer,  who  devoted  great  care  to  the  education  of  the  fami- 
lies employed  by  him,  are  full  of  truth,  and  are  applicable  to  our 
own  country.  "  The  importance  of  good  manners  among  this  class 
of  people,  as  among  all  others,  appeared  to  me  to  be  very  great, 
more  so  than  is  generally  acknowledged ;  for  though  every  one  ap- 
proves and  admires  them  when  met  with,  little  attention  is  paid  to 
their  cultivation  in  the  systems  of  instruction  for  the  labouring 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  27 

course,  of  all  our  lives,  or,  more  properly,  of  the  whole  dura- 
tion of  our  being.  But  since  impressions  made  early  are 
the  deepest  and  most  lasting,  that  is,  above  all,  education 
which  tends  in  childhood  and  youth  to  form  a  manly,  up- 
light,  and  generous  character,  and  thus  to  lay  the  founda- 
tion for  a  course  of  liberal  and  virtuous  self-culture.  "  The 
education"  says  an  able  writer,  "  required  for  the  people,  is 
that  which  will  give  them  the  full  command  of  every  facul- 
ty, both  of  mind  and  body ;  which  will  call  into  play  their 
powers  of  observation  and  reflection  ;  which  will  make 
thinking  and  reasonable  beings  of  the  mere  creatures  of  im- 
pulse, prejudice,  and  passion ;  that  which,  in  a  moral  sense, 
will  give  them  objects  of  pursuit  and  habits  of  conduct,  fa- 
vourable to  their  own  happiness,  and  to  that  of  the  communi- 
ty of  which  they  will  form  a  part ;  which,  by  multiplying  the 
means  of  rational  and  intellectual  enjoyment,  will  diminish 
the  temptations  of  vice  and  sensuality ;  which,  in  the  social 
relations  of  life,  and  as  connected  with  objects  of  legislation, 
will  teach  them  the  identity  of  the  individual  with  the  gen- 
eral interest ;  that  which,  in  the  physical  sciences — espe- 
cially those  of  Chemistry  and  Mechanics — will  make  them 
masters  of  the  secrets  of  nature,  and  give  them  powers 
which  even  now  tend  to  elevate  the  moderns  to  a  higher 

classes.  I  wish  to  see  our  people  distinguished  by  their  good  man- 
ners, not  so  much  for  the  sake  of  those  manners,  as  because  they 
indicate  more  than  they  show,  and  they  tend  powerfully  to  nourish 
and  protect  the  growth  of  the  virtues  which  they  indicate.  What 
are  they,  indeed,  when  rightly  considered,  but  the  silent  though  ac- 
tive exp<  ession  of  Christian  feelings  and  dispositions  1  The  gentle- 
ness, the  tenderness,  the  delicacy,  the  patience,  the  forbearance,  the 
fear  of  giving  pain,  the  repression  of  all  angry  and  resentful  feelings, 
the  respect  and  consideration  due  to  a  fellow-man,  and  which  every 
one  should  be  ready  to  pay  and  expect  to  receive — what  is  all  this 
but  the  very  spirit  of  courtesy  1  What  is  it  but  the  very  spirit  of 
Christianity  ]  And  what  is  there  in  this  that  is  not  equally  an  or- 
nament to  the  palace  and  the  cottage,  to  the  nobleman  and  the 
peasant^" 


28  THE    SCHOOL   AND 

rank  than  that  of  the  demigods  of  antiquity.  All  this,  and 
more,  should  be  embraced  in  that  scheme  of  education 
which  would  be  worthy  of  statesmen  to  give,  and  of  a  great 
nation  to  receive ;  and  the  time  is  near  at  hand  when  the 
attainment  of  an  object  thus  comprehensive  in  its  character, 
and  leading  to  results,  the  practical  benefits  of  which  it  is 
almost  impossible  for  even  the  imagination  to  exaggerate, 
will  not  be  considered  a  Utopian  dream."* 


SECTION  II. 

PREVAILING  ERRORS  IN  REGARD  TO  THE  NATURE  AND  END 
OF  EDUCATION. 

"  Locke  was  not  like  the  pedants  of  his  own  or  other  ages,  who 
think  that  to  pour  their  wordy  book-learning  into  the  memory  is  the 
true  discipline  of  childhood." — HALLAM. 

IF  the  sketch  which  we  have  thus  drawn  of  the  nature 
and  ends  of  education  be  correct,  it  must  be  evident  that  it 
is  a  subject  in  regard  to  which  great  misconception  pre- 
vails. We  apprehend,  indeed,  that  hardly  one  cause  so 
much  contributes  to  maintain  existing  evils  and  imperfec- 
tions in  our  educational  system  as  the  prevalence  of  these 
misconceptions.  "  The  improvement  of  education"  says  an- 
other, "  will  alone  lead  to  its  extension  ;"  and  we  add,  that  a 
clearer  comprehension  of  its  nature  will  alone  lead  to  its 
improvement.  Changes  may  be  multiplied,  but  they  will 
rarely  prove  to  be  improvements,  unless  they  proceed  on  a 
clear  and  definite  understanding  of  the  end  to  be  attained. 
Means  are  wisely  chosen  only  when  they  are  precisely 
adapted  to  the  object  sought,  and  they  are  thus  adapted, 
only  when  that  object  stands  out  clearly  and  boldly  before 
the  mind.  Let  us,  then,  look  at  some  of  these  prevailing 
misconceptions. 

*  Westminster  Review. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  29 

By  many,  education  is  regarded  simply  as  the  means 
of  communicating  to  the  young  certain  mechanical  accom- 
plishments, which,  in  the  progress  of  society,  have  become 
essential  to  our  comfort  and  success.  Thus,  in  the  opinion 
of  one,  a  child  is  educated  when  he  can  read,  write,  and 
cipher.*  To  these,  others  would  add  certain  higher  scho- 
lastic attainments,  more  or  less  in  number ;  and  a  third  party 
hold  no  child  to  be  educated,  unless  to  what  they  term 

*  The  influence  of  this  misconception  on  the  state  of  popular  in- 
struction in  England  is  thus  noticed  by  a  late  writer :  "  In  the  num- 
ber of  schools  and  of  pupils,  our  account,  on  the  whole,  is  extremely 
satisfactory.  Where,  then,  do  we  fail  ?  Not  in  the  schools,  but  in 
the  instruction  that  is  given  there  :  a  great  proportion  of  the  poorer 
children  attend  only  the  Sunday-schools,  and  the  education  of  once 
a  week  is  not  very  valuable ;  but  generally,  throughout  the  primary 
schools,  nothing  is  taught  but  a  little  spelling,  a  very  little  reading, 
still  less  writing,  the  Catechism,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  an  unex- 
plained, unelucidated  chapter  or  two  in  the  Bible ;  add  to  these  the 
nasal  mastery  of  a  hymn,  and  an  undecided  conquest  over  the  rule 
of  Addition,  and  you  behold  a  very  finished  education  for  the  poor. 
The  schoolmaster  and  the  schoolmistress,  in  these  academies,  know 
little  themselves  beyond  the  bald  and  meager  knowledge  that  they 
teach,  and  are  much  more  fit  to  go  to  school  than  to  give  instruc- 
tions. Now  the  object  of  education  is  to  make  a  reflective,  moral, 
prudent,  loyal,  and  healthy  people.  A  little  reading  and  writing  of 
themselves  contribute  very  doubtfully  to  that  end.  Just  hear  what 
Mr.  Hickson,  a  most  iv,  lligent  witness  (in  his  evidence  on  the 
Poor  Laws),  says  on  this  head : 

" '  Query.  Are  you  of  opinion  that  an  efficient  system  of  national 
education  would  materially  improve  the  condition  of  the  labouring 
classes  1 

"  '  Answer.  Undoubtedly ;  but  I  must  beg  leave  to  observe,  that 
something  mure  than  mere  teaching  to  read  and  write  is  necessary 
for  the  poorer  classes.  Where  books  and  newspapers  are  inaccess- 
ible or  not  used,  the  knowledge  of  the  art  of  reading  avails  nothing. 
I  have  met  with  adults  who,  after  having  been  taught  to  read  and 
write  when  young,  have  almost  entirely  forgotten  those  arts  for 
want  of  opportunities  to  exercise  them.'  " — England  and,  the  English, 
voL  i.,  p.  186. 

C2 


30  THE    SCHOOL   AND 

"  school  learning"  is  added  some  trade  or  employment  by 
which  he  can  make  a  living.  The  great  and  all-impor- 
tant fact  that  a  child  has  powers  and  sentiments  which  pre- 
destine him  to  advance  forever  in  knowledge  and  virtue,  but 
powers  which  will  be  stifled  or  perverted  in  their  very  in- 
fancy without  proper  culture — this  fact  is  overlooked.  It  is 
not  considered  that  he  has  a  moral  and  intellectual  charac- 
ter to  be  formed,  and  that  this  character  will  never  reach 
the  required  excellence,  unless  wise  principles  are  instilled, 
and  good  habits  formed. 

A  child  leaves  school  without  having  contracted  either  a 
desire  for  knowledge,  or  a  love  of  good  books.  He  knows 
as  little  of  his  own  frame,  of  the  laws  of  his  intellectual  and 
moral  nature,  of  the  constitution  of  the  material  world,  and 
of  the  past  history  of  his  country  and  race,  as  if  on  these 
subjects  books  were  silent — and  yet  he  is  said  to  be  educa- 
ted !  What  is  still  more  important,  he  has  been  subjected 
to  no  early,  constant,  and  efficient  training  of  his  disposi- 
tion, manners,  judgment,  and  habits  of  thought  and  conduct. 
The  sentiments  held  to  be  appropriate  to  the  adult  have  not 
been  imbibed  with  the  milk  of  infancy,  and  iterated  and  re- 
iterated through  the  whole  of  subsequent  childhood  and 
youth ;  the  manners  considered  becoming  in  men  and  wom- 
en have  not  been  sedulously  imparted  in  early  years ;  nor 
have  the  habits  regarded  as  conducive  to  individual  advance- 
ment, social  happiness,  and  national  prosperity,  been  culti- 
vated with  the  utmost  diligence  ;  and  yet — the  child  is  said 
to  be  educated  !  He  knows  little,  and  yet  he  imagines  that 
he  knows  all  or  enough ! 

"  Well !"  exclaimed  a  young  lady  just  returned  from 
school,  "  my  education  is  at  last  finished  ;  indeed,  it  would 
be  strange  if,  after  five  years'  hard  application,  anything 
were  left  incomplete.  Happily,  that  is  all  over  now,  and  I 
have  nothing  to  do  but  to  exercise  my  various  accomplish- 
ments. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  31 

"  Let  me  see !  as  to  French,  I  am  mistress  of  that,  and 
speak  it,  if  possible,  with  more  fluency  than  English.  Ital- 
ian I  can  read  with  ease,  and  pronounce  very  well — as  well, 
at  least,  and  better,  than  any  of  my  friends  ;  and  that  is  all 
one  need  wish  for  in  Italian.  Music  I  have  learned  till  I 
am  perfectly  sick  of  it ;  but,  now  that  we  have  a  grand  pi- 
ano, it  will  be  delightful  to  play  when  we  have  company. 
I  must  still  continue  to  practise  a  little ;  the  only  thing,  I 
think,  that  I  need  now  improve  myself  in.  And  then  there 
are  my  Italian  songs  !  which  everybody  allows  I  sing  with 
taste ;  and  as  it  is  what  so  few  people  can  pretend  to,  I  am 
particularly  glad  that  I  can. 

"  My  drawings  are  universally  admired,  especially  the 
shells  and  flowers,  which  are  beautiful,  certainly ;  besides 
this,  I  have  a  decided  taste  in  all  kinds  of  fancy  ornaments. 

"  And  then  my  dancing  and  waltzing !  in  which  our  mas- 
ter himself  owned  that  he  could  take  me  no  farther !  just 
the  figure  for  it,  certainly ;  it  would  be  unpardonable  if  I 
did  not  excel. 

"  As  to  common  things,  Geography,  and  History,  and  Po- 
etry, and  Philosophy,  thank  my  stars,  I  have  got  through 
them  all !  so  that  I  may  consider  myself  not  only  perfectly 
accomplished,  but  also  thoroughly  well-informed. 

"  Well,  to  be  sure !  how  much  I  have  fagged  through ; 
the  only  wonder  is,  that  one  head  can  contain  it  all." 

With  this  picture — a  picture  but  too  just  of  most  of  the 
subjects,  not  only  of  what  is  called  a  fine  education,  but  of 
education  of  every  degree — the  lively  writer*  contrasts  the 
revery  of  "  a  silver-headed  sage,"  who,  after  passing  in  re- 
view all  his  profound  attainments  in  science  and  letters, 
and  comparing  them  with  the  vast  field  still  unexplored,  ex- 
claims, "  Alas !  how  narrow  is  the  utmost  extent  of  human 
knowledge !  how  circumscribed  the  sphere  of  intellectual 

*  Jane  Taylor. 


32  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

exertion!  What  folly  in  man  to  glory  in  his  contracted 
powers,  or  to  value  himself  upon  his  imperfect  acquisi- 
tions." 

Akin  to  the  error  just  noticed  is  another,  which  makes 
education  consist  in  acquiring  knowledge.  That  no  educa- 
tion is  complete  or  sufficient  which  leaves  the  subject  of  it  in 
ignorance  is  plain  ;  and  there  is  a  certain  amount  of  knowl- 
edge which,  as  it  seems  absolutely  needful  to  man's  highest 
welfare,  and  is,  moreover,  within  the  reach  of  all,  so  should 
it  be  considered  as  an  indispensable  part  of  the  education 
of  the  whole  people.  Such  in  addition  to  reading,  writing, 
and  arithmetic,  and  a  proper  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures, 
is  an  acquaintance  with  the  criminal  laws  of  the  govern- 
ment under  which  we  live,  with  general  geography  and  his- 
tory, and,  to  some  extent,  with  our  own  physical,  intel".  'ctual, 
and  moral  constitution.  The  grand  error  is,  that  that  is 
called  knowledge,  which  is  mere  rote-learning  and  word- 
mongery.  The  child  is  said  to  be  educated,  because  it  can 
repeat  the  text  of  this  one's  grammar,  and  of  that  one's  ge- 
ography and  history ;  because  a  certain  number  of  facts, 
often  without  connexion  or  dependance,  have,  for  the  time  be- 
ing, been  deposited  in  its  memory,  though  they  have  never 
been  wrought  at  all  into  the  understanding,  nor  have  awa- 
kened, in  truth,  one  effort  of  the  higher  faculties.  The  soil 
of  the  mind  is  left,  by  such  culture,  nearly  as  untouched,  and 
as  little  likely,  therefore,  to  yield  back  valuable  fruit,  as  if 
these  same  facts  had  been  committed  to  memory,  in  an  un- 
known tongue.  It  is,  as  if  the  husbandman  were  to  go  forth 
and  sow  his  seed  by  the  way-side,  or  on  the  surface  of  a 
field  which  has  been  trodden  down  by  the  hoofs  of  innu- 
merable horses,  and  then,  when  the  cry  of  harvest  home  is 
heard  about  him,  expect  to  reap  as  abundant  returns  as  the 
most  provident  and  industrious  of  his  neighbours.  He  for- 
gets that  the  same  irreversible  law  holds  in  mental  as  in 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  33 

material  husbandry :   Whatever  a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he 
also  reap. 

The  first  duty  of  the  teacher,  whether  he  be  a  parent,  or 
hired  instructer,  is  to  enrich  and  turn  up  the  soil*  of  the 
mind,  and  thus  quicken  its  productive  energies.  Awaken  a 
child's  faculties  ;  give  him  worthy  objects  on  which  to  exer- 
cise them ;  invest  him  with  proper  control  over  them,  and 
let  him  have  tasted  often  the  pleasure  of  employing  them  in 
the  acquisition  of  truth,  and  he  will  gain  knowledge  for  him- 
self. Yet  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  this  cannot  be  done 
effectually  and  thoroughly,  without  imparting,  at  the  same 
time,  much  knowledge.  It  is  in  the  act  of  apprehending 
truth,  of  perceiving  the  evidence  on  which  it  rests,  of  tra- 
cing out  its  relations  to,  and  dependance  on  other  truths, 
and  then  of  applying  it  to  the  explanation  of  phenomena 
and  events — it  is  by  such  means  that  we  excite,  invigorate, 
and  discipline  the  faculties.  It  has  been  much  disputed, 
whether  it  be  the  primary  object  of  education,  to  discipline 
and  develop  the  powers  of  the  soul,  or  to  communicate 
knowledge.  Were  these  two  objects  distinct  and  independ- 
ent, it  is  not  to  be  questioned,  that  the  first  is  unspeakably 
more  important  than  the  second.  But,  in  truth,  they  are  in- 
separable. That  training  which  best  disciplines  and  un- 
folds the  faculties  will,  at  the  same  time,  impart  the  great- 
est amount  of  real  and  effective  knowledge  ;  while,  on  the 
other  hand,  that  which  imparts  thoroughly,  and  for  perma- 
nent use  and  possession,  the  greatest  amount  of  knowledge, 
will  best  develop,  strengthen,  and  refine  the  powers.  In 
proportion,  however,  as  intellectual  vigour  and  activity  are 
more  important  than  mere  rote-learning,  in  the  same  pro- 
portion ought  we  to  attach  more  value  to  an  education 

*  Berkeley,  in  one  of  his  queries,  asks,  "  Whether  the  mind,  like 
the  soil,  does  not  by  disuse  grow  stiff,  and  whether  reasoning  and 
study  be  not  like  dividing  the  glebe." — Querist,  p.  140. 


34  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

which,  though  it  only  teaches  a  child  to  read,  has,  in  doing 
so,  taught  him  also  to  THINK,  than  we  should  to  one  which, 
though  it  may  have  bestowed  on  him  the  husks  and  shells 
of  half  a  dozen  of  the  sciences,  has  never  taught  him  to  use 
with  pleasure  and  effect  his  reflective  faculties.*  He  who 
can  think,  and  loves  to  think,  will  become,  if  he  has  a  few 
good  books,  a  wise  man.  He  who  knows  not  how  to  think, 
or  who  hates  the  toil  of  doing  it,  will  remain  imbecile, 
though  his  mind  be  crowded  with  the  contents  of  a  library. 
This  is,  at  present,  perhaps  the  greatest  fault  in  intellect- 
ual education.  The  new  power,  with  which  the  scientific 
discoveries  of  the  last  three  centuries  have  clothed  civilized 
man,  renders  knowledge  an  object  of  unbounded  respect 
and  desire ;  while  it  is  forgotten,  that  that  knowledge  can 
be  mastered  and  appropriated  only  by  the  vigorous  exercise 
and  application  of  all  our  intellectual  faculties.  If  the  mind 
of  a  child,  when  learning,  remains  nearly  passive — merely 
receiving  knowledge  as  a  vessel  receives  water  which  is 
poured  into  it — little  good  can  be  expected  to  accrue.  It  is 
as  if  food  were  introduced  into  the  stomach  which  there  is 
no  power  to  digest  or  assimilate,  and  which  will  therefore 
be  rejected  from  the  system,  or  lie  a  useless  and  oppressive 
load  upon  its  energies. 

*  "At  the  first,"  says  Erasmus,  "it  is  no  great  matter  hmo  much 
you  learn,  but  how  well  you  learn  it." — Colloquies,  p.  607. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  35 

SECTION  III. 
THE    SAME    SUBJECT    CONTINUED. 

"  The  exaltation  of  talent,  as  it  is  called,  above  virtue  and  re- 
ligion, is  the  curse  of  the  age.  Education  is  now  chiefly  a  stimulus 
to  learning,  and  thus  men  acquire  power  without  the  principles 
which  alone  make  it  a  good.  Talent  is  worshipped ;  but  if  divorced 
from  rectitude,  it  will  prove  more  of  a  demon  than  a  god." — CHAN- 
NINO. 

ANOTHER  and  not  less  pernicious  error,  is  to  mistake  for 
education  a  partial,  narrow  culture,  Avhich  operates  on  but  a 
part  of  the  mind.  In  some  instances,  the  moral  nature  is 
addressed,  to  the  exclusion  or  neglect  of  the  intellectual ; 
but  much  more  frequently,  the  intellectual  powers  are  fos- 
tered, to  the  grievous  neglect  of  the  spiritual  and  moral. 
The  child  is  dealt  with,  not  only  as  though  these  two  class- 
es of  powers  were  separate  and  independent  of  each  other, 
which  is  a  great  mistake,  but  as  if  one  class  could  be  safe- 
ly roused  and  enlisted  in  action,  while  the  other  remains 
dormant. 

Under  the  reign  of  the  scholastic  philosophy,  a  discipline 
which  developed  the  reasoning  faculty  and  cultivated  the 
study  of  theology,  took  sole  possession  of  places  dedicated 
to  education.  In  our  own  age,  we  have  passed  to  the  op- 
posite extreme.  Unbounded  pains  are  now  taken,  to  en- 
lighten a  child  in  the  first  principles  of  science  and  letters, 
and  also  in  regard  to  the  business  of  life.  At  a  time,  too, 
when  an  intellectual  has  been  substituted  for  a  physical  su- 
premacy, and  results  are  produced  almost  entirely  by  talent 
and  address,  it  is  thought  an  object  of  vast  consequence,  to 
develop  mental  energy  and  activity.  In  the  mean  time, 
the  culture  of  the  heart  and  conscience  is  often  sadly  neg- 
lected ;  and  the  child  grows  up  a  shrewd,  intelligent,  and 
influential  man,  perhaps,  but  yet  a  slave  to  his  lower  pro- 


36  THE    SCHOOL   AND 

pensities.  Talent  and  knowledge  are  rarely  blessings  ei- 
ther to  their  possessor  or  to  the.  world,  unless  they  are  pla- 
ced under  the  control  of  the  higher  sentiments  and  principles 
of  our  nature.  Better  that  men  should  remain  in  ignorance, 
than  that  they  should  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowl- 
edge, only  to  be  made  more  subtle  and  powerful  adversaries 
of  God  and  of  humanity.* 

In  this  respect,  "  much,"  to  borrow  the  language  of  Dr. 
Morrison,  "maybe  learned  from  the  Chinese.  They  not 
only  make  education  universal,  but  they  place  that  which 
is  moral  above  that  which  is  physical."  With  a  system  of 
philosophy,  and  religious  faith,  which  is  eminently  deficient 
in  large  and  comprehensive  views,  they  still  succeed,  to  a  de- 
gree, perhaps,  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  the  world,  in 
inculcating  certain  social  and  political  duties.  The  great 
object  of  their  policy,  is  to  maintain  industry,  subordination, 
and  social  order ;  and  their  chief  instrument  for  attaining 
this  object,  is  the  training  of  the  young,  as  distinguished 
from  mere  instruction.  With  us,  the  latter  is  the  chief  part 
of  education ;  with  them,  the  former.  We,  too,  talk  much 
to  the  young  of  their  "  rights ;"  the  Chinese  dwell  princi- 
pally, and,  we  may  add,  only,  on  their  duties.  They  rely  on 
the  "  habitual  and  universal  inculcation  of  obedience  and 
deference,  in  unbroken  series,  from  one  end  of  society  to 
the  other ;  beginning  in  the  relation  of  children  to  their  pa- 
rents, continuing  through  that  of  the  young  to  the  aged,  of 

*  "  In  the  Celestial  Hierarchy,"  says  a  late  writer,  "  according 
to  Dionysius  Areopagita,  the  Angels  of  Love  hold  the  first  place, 
the  Angels  of  Light  the  second,  and  Thrones  and  Dominations  the 
third.  Among  Terrestrials,  the  intellects  which  act  through  the 
imagination  upon  the  heart  may  be  accounted  the  first  in  order,  the 
merely  scientific  intellects  the  second,  and  the  merely  ruling  intel- 
lects— those  which  apply  themselves  to  mankind  without  the  aid 
of  either  science  or  imagination — will  not  be  disparaged  if  they  are 
placed  last." 


THE     SCHOOLMASTER.  37 

the  uneducated  to  the  educated,  and  terminating  in  that  of 
the  people  to  their  rulers."* 

This  topic  occupies  the  whole  of  the  first  four  books  of  Con- 
fucius ;  and  twice  in  every  moon,  sixteen  discourses  of  one  oi 
their  wisest  and  most  virtuous  monarchs,  which  treat  of  these 
and  kindred  social  duties,  are  read  to  the  whole  Empire. -f 
The  results  of  such  precepts  constantly  repeated — to  which 
conformity  is  rigidly  exacted,  and  which  are  enforced  by 
the  examples  of  parents,  instructors,  and  all  classes  of  citi- 
zens— may  be  foreseen.  "  They  are  apparent,"  says  Davis, 
"  on  the  very  face  of  the  most  cheerfully  industrious  and 
orderly,  and  the  most  wealthy  nation  of  Asia."  The  peo- 
ple are  contented ;  there  is  little  abject  poverty ;  age  is  rev- 
erenced more  than  wealth ;  and  the  subjects  are  devoted, 

*  See  Davis's  China,  chap.  vi. 

t  The  texts  of  these  discourses  will  illustrate  the  spirit  of  Chi- 
nese economy  and  education.  "  1.  Be  strenuous  in  filial  piety  and 
paternal  respect,  that  you  may  thus  duly  perform  the  social  duties, 
2.  Be  firmly  attached  to  your  kindred  and  parentage,  that  your 
union  and  concord  may  be  conspicuous.  3.  Agree  with  your  coun- 
trymen and  neighbours,  in  order  that  disputes  and  litigation  may  be 
prevented.  4.  Attend  to  your  farms  and  mulberry-trees,  that  you 
may  have  sufficient  food  and  clothing.  5.  Observe  moderation  and 
economy,  that  your  property  may  not  be  wasted.  6.  Extend  your 
schools  of  instruction,  that  learning  may  be  duly  cultivated.  7.  Re- 
ject all  false  doctrines,  in  order  that  you  may  duly  honour  true  learn- 
ing. 8.  Declare  the  laws  and  their  penalties,  for  a  warning  to  the 
foolish  and  ignorant.  9.  Let  humility  and  propriety  of  behaviour  be 
duly  manifested,  for  the  preservation  of  good  habits  and  laudable 
customs.  10.  Attend  each  to  your  proper  employments,  that  the 
people  may  be  fixed  in  their  purposes.  11.  Attend  to  the  education 
of  youth,  in  order  to  guard  them  from  doing  evil.  12.  Abstain  from 
false  accusing,  that  the-good  and  honest  may  be  in  safety.  13.  Ab- 
stain from  the  concealment  of  deserters,  that  others  be-not  involved 
in  their  guilt.  14.  Duly  pay  your  taxes  and  customs,  to  spare  the 
necessity  of  enforcing  them.  15.  Let  the  tithihgs  and  hundreds 
unite  for  the  suppression  of  thieves  and  robbers.  16.  Reconcile 
animosities,  that  your  lives  be  not  lightly  hazarded." 

D 


38  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

with  a  loyalty  the  most  ardent  and  inflexible,  to  their  gov- 
ernment. If  all  this  can  be  accomplished  under  a  system 
so  imperfect,  merely  by  the  use  of  wise  means,  what  might 
not  be  expected  in  a  free,  enlightened,  and  Christian  land, 
if  we  would  but  give  to  moral  education  its  proper  promi- 
nence, and  substitute  thorough  training  for  mere  instruc 
tion  ? 

This  error  of  postponing  moral  to  intellectual  culture  has, 
like  all  other  errors,  engendered  its  opposite.  Perceiving 
its  danger  and  deploring  its  prevalence,  good  and  thought- 
ful men  are  led,  in  some  cases,  to  doubt  altogether  the  ex- 
pediency of  educating  the  people  ;  in  others,  they  maintain, 
in  their  zeal  for  religious  education,  that  that  alone  is  ne- 
cessary or  desirable.  It  must  be  remembered,  however, 
that  a  moral  and  religious  culture  which  does  not  awaken 
and  develop  the  faculties  of  the  understanding,  and  build 
itself  upon  clear  and  rational  convictions,  can  have  little 
value.  It  will  neither  regulate  the  life,  nor  sustain  the  for- 
titude and  confidence  of  the  believer.  The  powers  of 
thought  must  be  so  far  unfolded  and  strengthened,  that  the 
mind  can  seize  upon  truths  and  moral  motives,  and  hold 
them  with  a  steady,  unyielding  grasp,  before  moral  or  reli- 
gious lessons  can  make  a  deep  and  lasting  impression. 
"  It  is  the  same  spirit  and  principle,"  says  South,  "  that  pu- 
rifies the  heart  and  clarifies  the  understanding ;"  and  we 
have  no  more  right  to  suppose  that  the  heart  can  be  en- 
lightened while  the  understanding  is  left  in  da^gMMS,  than 
we  have  to  suppose  that  the  intellectual  part  of  man  can  be 
healthy  while  his  moral  nature  is  unsound.  So  long  as  the 
heart  is  neglected,  passions  and  prejudices  will  gather  be- 
fore the  intellectual  eye,  and  darken  or  distort  all  its  per- 
ceptions of  truth.  On  the  other  hand,  a  torpid  and  unen- 
lightened intellect  reduces  religious  faith  to  a  mere  blind 
assent,  which  makes  no  distinction  between  the  substance 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  39 

» 

and  accidents  of  truth,  and  substitutes  its  tithe  of  mint, 
anise,  and  cummin  for  the  weightier  matters  of  the  law.* 

That  the  great  truths  of  Christianity,  when  properly 
taught,  form  one  of  the  best  means  of  rousing  and  impro- 
ving the  intellect,  is  a  delightful  fact.  But  in  connexion 
with  this  fact,  we  cannot  be  reminded,  too  often,  that  what  is 
catted  religious  education,  frequently  fails  in  this  respect ; 
that  too  much  faith  is  apt  to  be  reposed  in  the  mere  name 
and  form  of  it,  when  the  spirit  is  wanting ;  and  hence  that 
hopes  are  excited  by  the  bare  circumstance  that  children 
are  in  attendance  at  a  Sunday-school,  or  are  members  of  a 
Bible  or  catechetical  class,  or  by  the  fact  that  the  Bible  and 

*  Confirmations  of  this  truth  may  be  found  in  every  neighbour- 
hood. A  remarkable  one  has  been  afforded  recently  by  the  peasant- 
ry in  the  county  of  Kent  (Eng.).  An  impostor  appeared  among  them 
in  1838,  named  Thorns,  who,  with  no  other  advantages  than  a  hand- 
some person  and  a  slender  education,  succeeded  in  persuading  great 
numbers  to  receive  him,  first,  as  Baron  Rothschild ;  then  as  the 
Earl  of  Devon ;  afterward  as  King  of  Jerusalem ;  and,  finally,  after 
one  or  two  other  transformations,  as  the  Saviour  of  mankind.  He 
gave  them  the  sacrament,  anointed  himself  and  them  with  oil,  and 
inspired  them  with  the  belief  that  no  bullet  could  touch  them.  This 
was  not  only  in  a  beautiful  country  in  which  there  was  no  hostility 
to  the  poor  laws,  and  where  the  peasantry  had  good  wages  and  were 
lightly  taxed,  but  it  was  under  the  very  spires  of  the  Canterbury 
Cathedral,  and  amid  a  population  accustomed  to  go  to  church,  pos- 
sessing hardly  any  but  religious  books,  and  of  whom  a  majority  had, 
in  their  youth,  gone  to  Sunday-schools.  These  facts  show  that  re- 
ligious instruction  will  be  powerless  in  most  cases,  unless  the  mind 
has  been  developed  by  general  culture.  Truth  must  not  only  be 
presented  to  the  mind ;  there  must  be  capacity  to  lapprehend  and 
disposition  to  act  upon  it.  In  the  case  just  referred  to,  the  Bible  or 
Testament,  the  Catechism,  and  a  few  religious  tracts,  were  the  only 
books  known  in  the  houses  or  used  in  the  schools.  The  conse- 
quence had  been,  that  these  were  read  without  interest  or  intelli- 
gence, and  children  who  could  read  in  the  Testament  with  -fluency, 
instantly  began  to  spell  and  hesitate  when  desired  to  read  out  of 
another  book. 


40  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

other  religious  books  are  used  in  schools,  which  hopes 
prove,  in  the  end,  to  be  utterly  fallacious.  No  plan  of  edu- 
cation is  entitled  to  confidence,  because  none  is  founded 
upon  a  just  view  of  the  nature  and  wants  of  man,  which 
does  not  recognise  the  importance  of  both  intellectual  and 
moral  culture,  and  which  does  not  cultivate  a  taste  for  ev- 
ery branch  of  liberal  and  useful  knowledge. 

I  cannot  dismiss  the  subject  of  moral  education,  without 
adverting  to  the  great  insensibility  which  seems  to  prevail 
among  us,  in  regard  to  the  power  of  example.  What  meets 
the  eye,  always  sinks  deeper  into  the  mind  than  what  only 
falls  upon  the  ear:  This  is  peculiarly  the  case  with  moral 
instructions.  When  imbodied  in  action,  and  illustrated  and 
adorned  by  the  daily  life  of  a  parent,  teacher,  or  friend,  they 
become  surpassingly  impressive  and  attractive.  On  the 
other  hand,  when  our  precepts  are  glaringly  contradicted  by 
our  practice,  they  are  worse  than  useless.  "  Parents,"  says 
Paley,  and  the  remark  may  be  extended  to  teachers,  "  pa- 
rents, to  do  them  justice,  are  seldom  sparing  in  lessons  of 
virtue  and  religion ;  in  admonitions  which  cost  little,  and 
profit  less  ;  while  their  example  exhibits  a  continual  contra- 
diction of  what  they  teach.  A  father,  for  instance,  will, 
with  much  solemnity  and  apparent  earnestness,  warn  his 
son  against  idleness  and  extravagance,  who  himself  loiters 
about  all  day  without  employment,  and  wastes  the  fortune, 
which  should  support  or  remain  a  provision  for  his  family, 
in  riot,  or  luxury,  or  ostentation.  Or  he  will  discourse 
gravely  before  his  children  of  the  obligation  and  importance 
of  revealed  religion,  while  they  see  the  most  frivolous  and 
oftentimes  feigned  excuses  detain  him  from  its  reasonable 
and  solemn  ordinances.  Or  he  will  set  before  them,  per- 
haps, the  supreme  and  tremendous  authority  of  Almighty 
God ;  that  such  a  being  ought  not  to  be  named,  or  even 
thought  upon,  without  sentiments  of  profound  awe  and  ven- 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  41 

eration.  This  may  be  the  lecture  he  delivers  to  his  family 
one  hour ;  when  the  next,  if  an  occasion  arise  to  excite  his 
anger,  his  mirth,  or  his  surprise,  they  will  hear  him  treat 
the  name  of  the  Deity  with  the  most  irreverent  profanation, 
and  sport  with  the  terms  and  denunciations  of  the  Christian 
religion,  as  if  they  were  the  language  of  some  ridiculous 
aiid  long  exploded  superstition.  Now  even  a  child  is  not 
to  be  imposed  upon  by  such  mockery.  He  sees  through 
the  grimace  of  this  counterfeited  concern  for  virtue.  He 
discovers  that  his  parent  is  acting  a  part ;  and  receives  his 
admonitions  as  he  would  hear  the  same  maxims  from  the 
mouth  of  a  player.  And  when  once  this  opinion  has  taken 
possession  of  the  child's  mind,  it  has  a  fatal  effect  upon  the 
parent's  influence  in  all  subjects,  even  those  in  which  he 
himself  may  be  sincere  and  convinced.  Whereas  a  silent, 
but  observable  regard  to  the  duties  of  religion,  in  the  pa- 
rent's own  behaviour,  will  take  a  sure  and  gradual  hold  of 
the  child's  disposition,  much  beyond  formal  reproofs  and 
chidings,  which,  being  generally  prompted  by  some  present 
provocations,  discover  more  of  anger  than  of  principle,  and 
are  always  received  with  a  temporary  alienation  and  dis- 
gust."* 

Another,  and,  at  present,  much  neglected  branch  of  edu- 
cation, is  the  culture  of  taste  and  imagination.  These  are 
leading  principles  of  the  human  mind,  which  must  always 
exert  great  influence  over  its  operations  and  its  welfare.  If 
duly  cultivated,  they  aid  and  quicken  the  understanding,  ex- 
alt the  aspirations  of  the  heart,  and  lend  grace  and  dignity 
to  manners.  Truth  is  never  more  readily  apprehended,  nor 
does  it  ever  lay  stronger  hold  upon  the  memory  and  affec- 
tions, than  when  illustrated  and  embellished  by  fancy. 
High  purposes  to  honour  God  and  benefit  man,  are  by 
none  conceived  with  so  much  force,  nor  by  any  maintained 
with  such  indomitable  firmness,  as  by  those  whose  imagina- 
*  Paley's  Moral  Philosophy,  b.  iii.,  pt.  iii.,  chap.  ix. 
D2 


42  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

lions  bring  the  far  distant  future  near,  and  transform  possi- 
ble into  actual  achievements.  To  children,  the  creations  of 
fancy  or  imagination  are  a  principal  source,  both  of  pleasure 
and  of  activity.  In  youth,  they  inspire  ardour  and  gener- 
osity of  purpose;  and  through  life, men  are  stimulated  to 
exertion  by  the  promises  with  which  they  clothe  the  future, 
and  by  that  irrepressible  yearning  after  a  higher  excellence 
to  which  they  give  birth. 

It  must  be  evident,  then,  to  every  one,  that  much  of  our 
happiness  and  dignity  will  depend  on  the  direction  given  to 
these  faculties  by  culture.  If  allied  to  virtue,  and  placed 
under  the  guidance  of  reason,  they  must  become  fruitful 
sources  of  enjoyment,  and  contribute  most  efficiently  to  our 
intellectual  and  moral  progress  ;  whereas  they  must  become 
equally  efficient  in  inducing  wretchedness  and  corruption, 
when  they  usurp  the  place  which  belongs  to  reason,  and 
form  an  alliance  with  our  vicious  or  malevolent  feelings. 

One  of  the  means  of  securing  to  these  faculties  a  healthy 
and  perfect  development,  is  to  employ  them  in  aid  of  intel- 
lectual education.  In  selecting  text-books  for  the  young, 
as  well  as  books  for  ordinary  reading,  always  prefer  those 
which  portray  truth  with  vivid  and  rich  illustrations,  and 
which  conform,  in  style  and  method,  to  the  rules  of  good 
taste. 

Another  and  most  important  means  of  cultivating  imagi- 
nation and  taste  is  found  in  the  study  of  the  fine  arts,  inclu- 
ding poetry  and  eloquence.  In  contemplating  the  works  of 
a  great  master  in  any  art,  we  substitute  regular  efforts  of 
imagination,  for  those  wild  and  eccentric  movements,  to 
which  it  is  so  prone,  and  by  this  means  we  gradually  gain 
control  over  it.  Instead  of  surrendering  our  minds  to  its 
capricious  guidance,  and  wasting  on  dreams  the  time  which 
ought  to  be  given  to  duty  or  improvement,  we  learn  to  sub- 
ordinate it  to  specific  ends  and  uses.  In  this  way,  too,  our 
conceptions  of  beauty  and  sublimity  are  enlarged  and  per- 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  43 

fected.  If  careful  to  study  none  but  works  conceived  in  the 
spirit  of  truth  and  virtue,  our  hearts  are  made  better ;  taste 
is  refined ;  the  soul  learns  to  breathe  freely  in  an  atmo- 
sphere above  the  world,  and  yet  not  so  remote,  but  it  can 
leturn  refreshed  and  invigorated,  to  meet  the  claims  of  life. 
An  innocent  and  elegant  resource  is  also  provided  against 
seasons  of  leisure  and  recreation.  We  close  the  avenues 
through  which  many  gross  temptations  assail  the  heart,  and 
remedy,  in  part,  the  disproportioned  development  of  our 
powers  which  is  occasioned  by  our  profession,  or  by  the 
spirit  of  the  age. 

In  our  age,  there  is  special  occasion  for  this  kind  of  cul- 
ture. The  social  condition  of  most  civilized  nations  is  such 
that  intelligence  and  activity  are  awakened  to  a  degree  un- 
paralleled in  history ;  but  they  have  been  hitherto,  directed, 
too  exclusively,  to  material  or  political  interests.  Imagina- 
tion is  too  much  employed  on  dreams  of  a  golden  prosperity 
for  the  individual,  or  on  visions  of  a  national  greatness 
which  is  to  be  the  wonder  of  the  world.  Everything  is  apt 
to  be  measured  by  the  standard  of  palpable  utility,  and 
whatever  does  not  tend  to  swell  the  credit  side  of  the  bal- 
ance sheet,  or  to  add  to  reputation  and  influence,  is  held  of 
little  account.  The  essential  dignity  of  the  mind — its  inde- 
pendence on  the  outward  world — these  are  lost  sight  of; 
while  we  regard  ourselves  too  much  as  ciphers  without  in- 
trinsic value,  and  dependant  for  our  consideration  and  im- 
portance on  position,  or  property ;  on  connexion  with  the 
state,  or  on  relation  to  a  party.  Might  not  the  cultivation  of 
the  arts  contribute  to  recall  us  to  a  sense  of  our  proper 
worth  ? 

By  affording  to  imagination  a  more  tranquil  and  elevating 
employment,  might  it  not  serve,  also,  to  allay,  in  some  de- 
gree, the  excessive  fervour  of  our  activity,  and  thereby  ren- 
der us  more  contented  and  happy  ? 

And  by  promoting  a  more  delicate  and  refined  taste, 


44  THE    SCHOOL   AND 

would  it  not  be  likely  to  lessen  the  rage  for  display  which 
is  the  vice  of  the  times,  and  contribute  to  substitute  grace 
of  manners  for  vulgar  pretension — the  chaste  embellish- 
ments of  art,,  for  extravagance  and  ostentation  in  dress  and 
furniture  1 

We  shall  learn,  moreover,  in  this  way,  that  there  is  a 
utility  which  does  not  admit  of  being  estimated  by  material 
standards  ;  that,  though  the  arts  called  useful  minister  to 
wants  more  urgent  and  obvious  than  those  supplied  by  the 
fine  arts,  the  latter  are  equally  real ;  and  that  the  civili- 
zation of  any  people  may  be  estimated  by  the  degree  of  im- 
portance which  is  ascribed  to  one  of  them  as  compared 
with  the  other. 

And,  finally,  we  may  hope  that,  by  recalling  men  to  a 
clearer  consciousness  of  their  inward  powers  and  capaci- 
ties, the  culture  of  these  arts  will  serve,  in  some  degree,  to 
arm  them  against  the  encroachments  of  society,  and  to  save 
them  from  a  moral  and  spiritual  bondage,  which  is  worse, 
than  any  political  servitude. 

I  will  advert  to  but  one  other  branch  of  education  before 
closing  this  subject.  This  is  physical  culture ;  the  great 
importance  of  which  seems  to  have  been  much  more  thor- 
oughly appreciated  by  the  ancients  than  it  is  by  us.  Edu- 
cation was  by  them  reduced  to  four  heads  :  grammar,  mu- 
sic, drawing,  and  gymnastics ;  the  object  of  the  last  being, 
according  to  Aristotle,  to  invigorate  the  body  and  fortify  the 
mind.  It  was  a  settled  principle  with  them,  that  moral  ed- 
ucation ought  to  precede  the  intellectual,  and  that  the  cul- 
ture of  the  body  ought  to  precede  that  of  the  mind.  "  Until 
children  have  completed  their  fifth  year,"  says  Aristotle, 
"  no  painful  task  should  be  imposed  and  no  violent  exertion 
required  from  the  mind  or  body,  lest  health  might  be  in- 
jured and  growth  obstructed.  All  that  utility  demands  is  to 
keep  the  faculties  awake  and  to  prevent  them  from  con- 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  45 

trading  any  habits  of  sloth. ;  which  will  be  best  effected  by 
such  plays  and  sports  as  are  neither  illiberal,  nor  fatiguing, 
nor  sedentary."  He  adds,  in  another  passage,  "  Before  the 
eighth  year  the  school  for  children  ought  to  be  the  father's 
house  ;  but  during  this  early  period  they  must  be  strictly 
guarded  against  the  infectious  communication  of  servants . 
no  illiberal  gesture  is  to  be  presented  to  their  sight ;  no  il 
liberal  image  is  to  be  suggested  to  their  fancy.  Lewd  in 
decency  of  language  ought  to  Ife  reprobated  in  every  well- 
regulated  city ;  for,  from  using  filthy  expressions  without 
shame,  there  is  an  easy  transition  to  the  practising  of  filthy 
actions  without  disgust."*  And  again :  "  Till  the  age  of 
puberty  the  lighter  gymnastic  exercises  only  should  be  en- 
joined and  practised  ;  athletic  exertions  and  a  forced  regi- 
men ought  to  be  proscribed  and  prohibited ;  for  such  arti- 
ficial violence  would  mar  the  work  of  nature,  disfigure  the 

*  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  neglect  of  physical,  as  connected 
with  moral  culture,  is  often  the  cause  of  insanity.  Says  one  of  the 
ablest  physicians  who  has  devoted  himself  to  the  treatment  of  this 
fearful  malady,  "  A  defective  and  faulty  education,  through  the  pe- 
riod of  infancy  and  childhood,  may  perhaps  be  found  to  be  the  most 
prolific  cause  of  insanity ;  by  this,  in  many,  a  predisposition  is  pro- 
duced, in  others  it  is  excited,  and  renders  incontrollable  the  animal 
propensities  of  our  nature.  Appetites  indulged  and  perverted,  pas- 
sion unrestrained,  and  propensities  rendered  vigorous  by  indulgence 
and  subjected  to  no  salutary  restraint,  bring  us  into  a  condition  in 
which  both  moral  and  physical  causes  easily  operate  to  produce  in- 
sanity, if  they  do  not  produce  it  themselves."  He  adds  in  another 
report,  -•  The  first  principles  of  physical  education,  which  teach  us 
how  to  avoid  disease,  are  all-important  to  all  liable  to  insanity  from 
hereditary  predisposition.  The  physical  health  must  be  attended  to, 
and  the  training  of  the  faculties  of  the  mind  be  such  as  to  counter- 
act the  active  propensities  of  our  nature,  correct  the  disposition  ol 
the  mind  to  wrong  currents  and  too  great  activity,  by  bringing  into 
action  the  antagonizing  powers.  Neglect  of  this  early  training  en- 
tails evils  upon  the  young  which  are  felt  in  all  after  life." — See  Dr. 
S.  B.  Woodward's  Seventh  and  Eighth  Reports  as  Superintendent  of 
the  State  Lunatic  Asylum  (Mass.). 


46  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

shape,  impede  the  growth,  and  forever  prevent  the  attain- 
ment of  manly  strength.  During  the  three  years  immedi- 
ately following  puberty,  the  application  of  youth  should  be 
directed  to  those  branches  of  education  which  form  and  in- 
vigorate the  mind.  They  will  then,  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen, be  capable  of  submitting  to  a  regulated  diet,  and  of 
sustaining  the  fatigue  of  athletic  exercises."* 

This  system  of  physical  training  was  not,  with  the  an- 
cients, a  mere  theory.  It  was  rigidly  observed,  and  the  re- 
sult was  seen  in  the  vigour  of  their  health,  and  the  grace- 
fulness of  their  carriage.  The  moderns  have  made  many 
discoveries  in  regard  to  the  laws  of  life  and  health ;  but 
these  laws  are  strangely  neglected  when  we  come  to  prac- 
tical education.  To  borrow  the  words  of  Spurzheim,  "  Many 
parents  are  anxious  to  cultivate  the  mind,  though  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  body.  They  think  they  cannot  instruct  their 
offspring  early  enough  to  read  and  to  write,  while  their 
bodily  constitution  and  health  are  overlooked.  Children 
are  shut  up,  forced  to  sit  quiet,  and  to  breathe  a  confined 
air.  This  error  is  the  greater,  the  more  delicate  the  chil- 
dren and  the  more  premature  their  mental  powers  are. 
The  bodily  powers  of  such  children  are  sooner  exhausted ; 
they  suffer  from  dyspepsy,  headache,  and  a  host  of  nervous 
complaints  ;  their  brain  is  liable  to  inflammation  and  serous 
effusion  ;  and  a  premature  death  is  frequently  a  consequence 
of  such  a  violation  of  nature.  It  is,  indeed,  to  be  lamented 
that  the  influence  of  the  physical  on  the  moral  part  of  man 
is  not  sufficiently  understood.  There  are  parents  who  will 
pay  masters  very  dearly,  in  hope  of  giving  excellence  to 
their  children,  but  who  will  hesitate  to  spend  the  tenth  part 
to  procure  them  bodily  health.  Some,  by  an  absurd  infatu- 
ation, take  their  own  constitutions  as  a  measure  of  those  of 
their  children,  and  because  they  themselves,  in  advanced 
life,  can  support  confinement  and  intense  application  with 
*  Aristotle's  Politics,  book  v. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  47 

little  injury  to  health,  they  conclude  that  their  young  and 
delicate  children  can  do  the  same.  Such  notions  are  alto- 
gether erroneous  ;  bodily  deformities,  curved  spines,  and  un- 
fitness  for  various  occupations,  and  the  fulfilment  of  future  du- 
ties, frequently  result  from  such  misunderstood  mismanage- 
ment of  children.  The  advantages  of  a  sound  body  are  in- 
calculable for  the  individuals  themselves,  their  friends,  and 
their  posterity.  Body  and  mind  ought  to  be  cultivated  in 
harmony,  and  neither  of  them  at  the  expense  of  the  other. 
Health  should  be  the  basis,  and  instruction  the  ornament  of 
early  education.  The  development  of  the  body  will  assist 
the  manifestations  of  the  mind,  and  a  good  mental  education 
will  contribute  to  bodily  health. 

"Young  geniuses  often  descend,  at  a  later  age,  into  the 
class  of  common  men.  Indeed,  experience  shows,  that 
among  children  of  almost  equal  dispositions,  those  who  are 
brought  up  without  particular  care,  and  begin  to  read  and 
write  when  their  bodily  constitution  has  acquired  some  so- 
lidity, soon  overtake  those  who  are  dragged  early  to  their 
spelling-books  at  the  detriment  of  their  bodily  frame.  No 
school  education,  strictly  speaking,  ought  to  begin  before 
seven  years  of  age.  We  shall,  however,  see,  in  a  follow- 
ing chapter  on  the  laws  of  exercise,  that  many  ideas  and 
notions  may  be  communicated  to  children  by  other  means 
than  books,  or  by  keeping  them  quiet  on  benches.  When 
education  shall  become  practical  and  applicable  to  the  fu- 
ture destination  of  individuals,  children  will  be  less  plagued 
with  nothings,  but  they  will  be  made  answerable  not  only 
for  their  natural  gifts  of  intellect,  but  also  for  the  just  em- 
ployment of  their  moral  powers  and  the  preservation  and 
cultivation  of  their  bodily  constitution,  since  vigour  in  it  is 
indispensable  to  enjoyment  and  usefulness.  They  will  be 
made  acquainted  with  the  natural  laws  of  nutrition  and  all 
vital  functions,  and  with  their  influence  on  health."* 

*  Spurzheim  on  Education,  p.  80. 


48  THE    SCHOOL   AND 

I  have  thus  insisted  on  the  necessity  of  a  comprehensive 
culture  which  aims  at  the  education  of  the  whole  man.  It 
is  a  subject  which  claims,  at  this  time,  particular  attention. 
The  causes  which  operate  on  the  formation  of  human  char- 
acter are  extremely  numerous  and  diversified,  and  studies 
whicn,  in  the  estimation  of  many,  are  useless  or  of  trifling 
importance,  may  still  be  essential  to  a  perfect  development 
of  our  powers  and  susceptibilities.*  This  truth,  and  the 
consequent  responsibility  which  rests  on  all  classes  of  citi- 
zens in  regard  to  education,  is  forcibly  illustrated  in  the  fol- 
lowing passage  from  a  sermon  of  Dr.  Ramsden,  formerly 
assistant  Professor  of  Divinity  at  Cambridge  (Eng.).  He 
is  showing  the  tendency  of  all  knowledge  to  form  the  heart 
of  a  nation. 

"  We  will  venture  to  say  how,  in  the  mercy  of  God  to 
man,  this  heart  comes  to  a  nation,  and  how  its  exercise  or 
affection  appears.  It  comes  by  priests,  by  lawyers,  by 
philosophers,  by  schools,  by  education,  by  the  nurse's  care, 
the  mother's  anxiety,  the  father's  severe  brow.  It  comes 
by  letters,  by  silence,  by  every  art,  by  sculpture,  painting, 
and  poetry ;  by  the  song  on  war,  on  peace,  on  domestic  vir- 
tue, on  a  beloved  and  magnanimous  king ;  by  the  Iliad,  by 
the  Odyssey,  by  tragedy,  by  comedy.  It  comes  by  sympa- 
thy, by  love,  by  the  marriage  union,  by  friendship,  generos- 
ity, meekness,  temperance ;  by  virtue  and  example  of  vir- 
tue. It  comes  by  sentiments  of  chivalry,  by  romance,  by 
music,  by  decorations  and  magnificence  of  buildings ;  by 
the  culture  of  the  body,  by  comfortable  clothing,  by  fash- 
ions in  dress,  by  luxury  and  commerce.  It  comes  by  the 

*  Bishop  Berkeley  asks,  "  Whether  an  early  habit  of  reflection, 
though  obtained  by  speculative  sciences,  may  not  have  its  use  in  prac- 
tical a/airs."  Also,  "Whether  those  parts  of  learning  which  are 
forgotten  may  not  have  improved  and  enriched  the  soil,  like  those 
vegetables  which  are  raised,  not  for  themselves,  but  are  ploughed 
in  for  a  dressing  of  the  land."— See  Querist,  p  140. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  49 

severity,  the  melancholy,  the  benignity  of  countenance ;  by 
rules  of  politeness,  ceremonies,  formalities,  solemnities.  It 
comes  by  rights  attendant  on  law,  by  religion,  by  the  oath 
of  office,  by  the  venerable  assembly,  by  the  judge's  proces- 
sion and  trumpets,  by  the  disgrace  and  punishment  of 
crimes,  by  public  fasts,  public  prayer,  by  meditation,  by  the 
Bible,  by  the  consecration  of  churches,  by  the  sacred  festi- 
val, by  the  cathedral's  gloom  and  choir.  Whence  the  heart 
of  a  nation  comes,  we  have,  perhaps,  sufficiently  explained. 
And  it  must  appear  to  what  most  awful  obligation  and  duty 
we  hold  all  those  from  whom  this  heart  takes  its  nature 
and  shape  —  our  king,  our  princes,  our  nobles,  all  who 
wear  the  badge  of  office  or  honour,  all  priests,  judges,  sen- 
ators, pleaders,  interpreters  of  law,  all  instructors  of  youth, 
all  seminaries  of  education,  all  parents,  all  learned  men,  all 
professors  of  science  and  art,  all  teachers  of  manners. 
Upon  them  depends  the  fashion  of  the  nation's  heart.  By 
them  it  is  to  be  chastised,  refined,  and  purified.  By  them 
is  the  state  to  lose  the  character  and  title  of  the  beasts  of 
prey.  By  them  are  the  iron  scales  to  fall,  and  a  skin  of 
youth,  beauty,  freshness,  and  polish  to  come  upon  it.  By 
them  it  is  to  be  made  so  tame  and  gentle,  as  that  a  child 
may  lead  it." 

E 


50  THE    SCHOOL    AN1> 

SECTION  IV. 
SAME    SUBJECT    CONTINUED. 

"  A  skilful  master,  who  has  a  child  placed  under  his  care,  must 
begin  by  sounding  well  the  character  of  his  genius  and  natural 
parts." — QUINTILIAN. 

ANOTHER  fault  in  prevailing  systems  of  education  is,  that 
they  do  not  sufficiently  adapt  themselves  to  the  different  char- 
acters, capacities,  and  circumstances  of  children.  We  are 
far  from  holding,  with  some,  that  a  free  and  unregulated 
development  is  all  that  is  needed  for  a  child  ;  and  hence  that 
the  sole  province  of  parents  and  teachers  is  to  remove  un- 
friendly influences,  and  leave  him  to  himself.  This  was 
the  theory  of  Rousseau,  as  expounded  in  his  Emile  ;*  and 

*  This  may  be  regarded,  says  a  late  writer,  as  the  principal  work 
of  Rousseau.  It  is  a  moral  romance,  which  appeared  in  1762,  and 
treats  chiefly  of  education.  The  plan  of  instruction  which  it  incul- 
cates is  to  allow  the  youthful  mind  to  unfold  itself  without  restraint, 
and  rather  to  protect  it  against  bad  impressions  than  to  attempt  to 
load  it  with  positive  instruction.  The  objects  of  Nature  are  to  be 
gradually  presented  to  it.  Necessity  alone  is  to  regulate  and  re- 
strain it,  till  reason,  unfettered  by  prejudice  and  previous  habits,  is 
able  to  weave  the  drapery  in  which  it  is  afterward  to  be  swathed. 
The  child  of  reason,  thus  thrown  into  a  mass  of  human  beings,  ac- 
tuated by  different  motives,  guided  by  different  principles,  and  pur- 
suing different  objects  from  itself,  like  a  skilfully-constructed  bark 
without  its  rudder,  and  stripped  of  its  canvass  and  cordage,  ctin  have 
no  other  fate  than  that  of  being  dashed  against  the  cliffs  or  sunk  be- 
neath the  waves.  In  discussing  the  subject  of  religious  education, 
he  exhibited  the  same  inconsistency  and  absurd  views.  The  French 
savants  were  displeased  with  his  glowing  sentiments  of  piety,  with 
his  impassioned  admiration  of  the  morality  of  the  Gospel  and  of  the 
character  of  its  Founder ;  while  the  friends  of  religion  and  social 
order  were  shocked  with  his  attacks  upon  miracles  and  prophecy, 
\  ith  his  insidious  and  open  objections  to  Christianity,  and  with  the 
application  of  human  reason  to  subjects  beyond  its  sphere  and  above 
its  power.  The  French  parliament  not  only  condemned  the  Emile. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  51 

how  little  faith  he  himself  had  in  it,  may  be  inferred  from 
the  answer,  which  he  is  said  to  have  given,  to  a  gentleman 
who  introduced  to  him  his  son,  whom  he  said  he  had  edu- 
cated according  to  the  principles  of  the  Emile.  "  So  much 
the  worse,"  quickly  replied  Rousseau,  "  for  you  and  your 
son  too." 

It  is  by  no  means  to  be  assumed  that  each  child  is  an 
angel  in  disguise,  and  that  those  who  have  the  care  of  him 
are  to  welcome,  as  a  necessary  part  of  his  being,  every  de- 
velopment which  he  may  present  of  feeling  and  disposition. 
With  much  that  requires  regulating  and  directing,  they  will 
also  find  much  in  him,  that  needs  to  be  repressed,  with  a 
stern  hand.  But  does  it  follow,  therefore,  that  we  are  to  dis- 
regard the  peculiarities  of  talent  and  temper  in  children,  and 
subject  them  all  to  the  same  inflexible  rule  ?  "  Some,"  says 
Quintilian,*  "  are  indolent  unless  spurred  on,  others  cannot 
bear  imperious  treatment ;  some  are  kept  to  their  duty  by 
fear,  others  are  discouraged  by  it ;  some  need  continual  pains, 
others  proceed  by  fits  and  starts."  Are  all  these  to  be  passed 
through  precisely  the  same  process,  and  reduced,  if  possible, 
to  the  same  type  and  level  ?  Is  it  to  be  forgotten  that  the 
world  is  greatly  benefited  by  the  material  diversities  which 
appear  among  men  in  respect  to  character,  capacity,  and 
taste,  and  that  no  discipline  is  to  be  desired  which  would 
obliterate  such  diversities  ?  It  must  be  evident,  too,  that 
such  a  discipline  offers  violence  to  nature,  and,  what  is 
more  to  be  lamented,  that  it  fails  altogether  to  reach  some 
minds,  while  on  others  it  inflicts  incurable  injury. 

In  addition  to  this  prevailing  disregard  of  individual  pecu- 
liarities, there  is,  perhaps,  still  greater  inattention  to  peculi- 
arities of  sex  and  condition  in  life.  One  cannot  look  at  the 

but  compelled  Rousseau  to  retire  precipitately  from  France,  by  com- 
mencing a  criminal  prosecution  against  him. 
*  Lib.  i.,  cap.  iii. 


52  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

female — with  less  muscular  vigour  and  more  nervous  sen- 
sibility than  the  other  sex ;  with  more  timidity  and  gentle- 
ness ;  with  deeper  affections  and  more  acute  sensitiveness 
— without  perceiving,  that  she  has  been  appointed  to  a 
sphere  very  different  from  that  of  man.  Her  appropriate 
empire  is  over  the  family,  where  she  not  only  lays  the  found- 
ation of  society  by  laying  the  foundation,  during  childhood, 
of  individual  character,  but  where  she  ever  exerts,  through 
her  acquaintance,  and  especially  through  her  husband  and 
children,  a  humanizing  influence  over  the  world.  Her 
heart  does  not,  like  man's,  become  indurated  or  alloyed  by 
intercourse  with  business,  and  by  collision  with  sordid  pas- 
sions. She  retains,  if  properly  educated,  her  generous  and 
virtuous  instincts  in  greater  vigour,  and  continues  more 
keenly  alive  to  the  wants  and  woes  of  suffering  humanity. 
How  salutary  and  powerful,  then,  is  her  ministry,  when,  in 
the  sanctuary  of  home,  she  breathes  gentleness  and  kindness 
into  the  sterner  natures  of  the  other  sex  ;  when,  in  the  spirit 
of  a  Roman,  or,  rather,  of  a  Christian  matron,  she  summons 
her  husband,  brothers,  and  sons,  to  do  valiantly,  and  yet 
meekly,  for  God  and  the  right. 

But,  to  fit  her  for  such  a  noble  ministry,  she  needs  a 
training,  quite  different  from  that  given  to  the  other  sex.  Her 
delicacy  and  purity  must  remain  untarnished.  Her  diffi- 
dence and  even  bashfulness,  at  once  a  grace  and  a  protection, 
should  be  cherished  as  a  peculiar  treasure.  She  is  to  have 
all  accomplishments  which  lend  a  charm  to  her  person  and 
manners  ;  but  these  must  be  held  as  insignificant,  when 
compared  with  those  which  qualify  her  for  the  duties  of  a 
wife  and  mother,  and  which  tend  to  inspire  a  taste  for  the 
privacy  of  domestic  life,  for  its  pleasures  and  privileges.  If 
she  has  no  more  urgent  duties,  her  graceful  pen  may  well 
be  employed  in  the  service  of  truth  and  virtue ;  and  her 
presence  and  assiduities  are  always  like  sunshine  in  the 
dark  abodes  of  poverty  and  sorrow,  and  even  in  the  retreats 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  53 

of  guilt  and  shame.  But  she  cannot  too  studiously  shun 
the  gaze  of  the  multitude.  The  strifes  and  tumults  of  the 
senate-house  and  the  platform  are  too  rude  even  for  her 
eye  to  rest  upon,  much  more  for  her  voice  to  mingle  in. 
Her  chastity  is  her  tower  of  strength,  her  modesty  and  gen- 
tleness are  her  charm,  and  her  ability  to  meet  the  high 
claims  of  her  family  and  dependants,  the  noblest  power  she 
can  exhibit  to  the  admiration  of  the  world. 

Such  being  her  destination,  it  is  obvious  that  she  requires 
a  corresponding  education.  Instead  of  needing,  as  seems 
to  have  been  the  opinion  of  Locke  and  Fenelon,*  but  little 
intellectual  culture,  she  should  have  a  mind  well  disciplined, 
and  stored  with  knowledge.  She  ought,  also,  to  be  thorough- 
ly versed  in  whatever  belongs  to  domestic  life  and  occupa- 
tions. She  should  have,  on  the  one  hand,  such  a  taste  for 
books  and  study,  that  she  will  never  willingly  remit  the 
work  of  self-culture ;  and,  on  the  other,  she  should  be  so 
imbued  with  a  sense  of  the  dignity  and  responsibility  of 
woman's  mission  in  life,  and  so  instructed  in  its  duties,  that 
she  will  always  be  ready  for  the  humblest  and  most  ardu- 
ous of  its  claims.  Above  all  things,  that  feminine  grace, 
which  results  from  the  possession  of  delicate  feelings  and 
gentle  thoughts  and  manners,  should  be  preserved,  and  she 
should  be  taught  to  shrink  from  noise  and  notoriety. 

*  In  his  work  on  Female  Education,  entitled  Sur  ^Education  des 
Filles,  Fenelon  has  this  passage :  "  Keep  their  minds  as  much  as 
you  can  within  the  usual  limits,  and  let  them  understand  that  the 
modesty  of  their  sex  ought  to  shrink  from  science  with  almost  as 
much  delicacy  as  from  vice."  This  doctrine  is  afterward  somewhat 
qualified,  and  the  treatise  itself  is  full  of  wise  suggestions  in  regard 
to  the  moral  training  of  childhood,  which  were  then  new.  It  has 
been  beautifully  said  of  it  by  Hallam,  that  its  author  "  May,  perhaps, 
be  considered  the  founder  of  that  school  which  has  endeavoured  to 
dissipate  the  terrors  and  dry  the  tears  of  childhood." 
E2 


54  THE    SCHOOL   AND 

That  such  training  is  not  as  general  as  it  ought  to  be,  is 
but  too  evident.  Though  destined,  especially  in  this  coun- 
try, to  enter  early  on  the  duties  of  a  wife  and  mother,  she 
is  rarely  qualified  for  those  duties  in  youth.  Much  of  the 
time  which  might  have  sufficed  to  give  her  knowledge  and 
practical  skill,  in  respect  to  household  affairs,  is  wasted  in 
a  manner  injurious  alike  to  health,  habits,  and  taste.  In 
her  intellectual  training,  vast  consequence  is  attached  to  ac- 
complishments, which,  in  most  instances,  are  learned  im- 
perfectly at  first,  and  then  entirely  laid  aside  in  after  life, 
while  the  foundation  of  a  robust,  intellectual  character  is 
seldom  laid.  At  the  same  time,  she  grows  up,  in  too  many 
cases,  with  a  feeble  constitution  of  body,  and  with  little  rel- 
ish for  substantial  acquirements  in  literature,  or  even  for  the 
more  elegant  pursuits  which  embellish  the  life  of  woman.* 
In  the  absence,  too,  of  proper  restraint  and  of  a  discipline 
sufficiently  domestic  and  private,  she  does  not  always  ex- 
hibit the  diffidence  and  the  maidenly  reserve  so  appropriate 
1o  her  age  and  sex.  To  borrow,  from  a  private  letter  lately 
received,  the  words  of  a  distinguished  foreigner,  who  has 

*  That  man  is  worthily  despised  who  does  not  qualify  himself  to 
support  that  family  of  which  he  has  voluntarily  assumed  the  office 
of  protector.  Nor,  surely,  is  that  woman  less  deserving  of  con- 
tempt, who,  having  consumed  the  period  of  youth  in  frivolous  read- 
ing, dissipating  amusement,  and  in  the  acquisition  of  accomplish- 
ments which  are  to  be  consigned,  immediately  after  marriage,  to  en- 
tire forgetfulness,  enters  upon  the  duties  of  a  wife  with  no  other 
expectation  than  that  of  being  a  useless  and  prodigal  appendage  to 
a  household,  ignorant  of  her  duties  and  of  the  manner  of  discharging 
them,  and  with  no  other  conceptions  of  the  responsibilities  which 
she  has  assumed,  than  such  as  have  been  acquired  from  a  life  of 
childish  caprice,  luxurious  self-indulgence,  and  sensitive,  feminine, 
yet  thoroughly  finished  selfishness.  And  yet  I  fear  that  the  system 
of  female  education  at  present  in  vogue  is,  in  many  respects,  liable 
to  the  accusation  of  producing  precisely  this  tendency.— WAYLAND'S 
Moral  Science  (1835),  p.  342. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  55 

spent  some  years  in  this  country,  "  There  is  a  class  of 
girls,  unfortunately  very  large  in  the  United  States,  who  are 
weaned  from  the  delicate  influence  of  strict  domesticity, 
who  think  that  pert  boldness  and  freedom  make  them  la- 
dies, who  go  all  sorts  of  lengths  in  bantering  with  young 
men,  and  who  pride'themselves  more  upon  taking,  on  board 
a  steamboat,  the  seat  of  an  old  man,  without  thanking  him, 
than  upon  the  glorious  character  of  a  meek,  pure,  and  kind- 
ly sister,  daughter,  or  friend." 

Even  when  great  pains  are  taken  with  the  education  of 
females,  and  the  avowed  object  is  to  give  a  thorough,  substan- 
tial course  of  instruction,  the  methods  adopted  are  not  al- 
ways judicious.  A  prevailing  fault,  in  all  education,  at  pres- 
ent, is  a  too  free  use  of  stimulants ;  and  this  fault  is,  perhaps, 
most  prevalent — where  it  is  most  injurious — in  the  training 
of  girls.  Teachers  aim  too  much  at  immediate  and  stri- 
king results ;  and  when  this  is  the  case  with  enthusiastic 
and  accomplished  instructors — operating  on  minds  which, 
from  age,  sex,  and  mutual  emulation,  are  intensely  excita- 
ble— there  is  much  danger  that  paroxysms  of  study  may  be 
occasioned,  not  only  unfavourable  to  health,  but  also  to  that 
calm  and  steady  love  for  books,  and  that  spirit  of  self-cul- 
ture, which  form  the  only  sure  guarantee  for  ultimate  and 
great  excellence.  Nothing  is  more  common,  than  to  find 
youth  who  have  distinguished  themselves  for  ardent  appli- 
cation at  school,  but  who  carry  from  it  no  habits  of  judi- 
cious reading,  and  no  very  evident  love  for  knowledge. 
They  have  been  confined  over  the  desk,  when  their  health 
imperiously  required  exercise  and  sports  in  the  open  air; 
they  have  been  encouraged  to  exhibit  themselves  as  prod- 
igies of  acquirement,  before  they  could  either  relish  or  di- 
gest the  studies  so  prematurely  pursued ;  and  they  too  fre- 
quently leave  school,  at  an  early  age,  with  shattered  consti- 
tutions, undisciplined  characters,  and  minds  in  which  mem- 
ory and  judgment  have  been  severely  taxed,  at  the  expense 


56  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

of  taste,  and,  perhaps,  too,  of  that  modest  delicacy,  which 
forms  the  highest  grace  of  the  female  character. 

This  error,  doubtless,  springs,  in  part,  from  the  very  early 
age,  at  which  school  education  commences  with  us.  In 
Prussia,  children  are  rarely  placed  at  school  before  seven. 
Here,  they  usually  begin  at  four.  Another  cause,  which 
also  has  its  effect,  is  the  active  emulation  maintained  among 
our  seminaries,  and  which,  with  the  mistaken  ambition  of 
parents  to  have  their  children  taught  many  branches  in  the 
shortest  possible  space  of  time,  renders  it  almost  necessary, 
that  an  institution  which  aims  at  a  large  share  of  public  pat- 
ronage, should  strive  rather  to  teach  much,  than  to  teach  well, 
and  to  lay  more  stress  upon  the  acquisition  of  knowledge, 
than  upon  the  due  cultivation  and  development  of  all  the 
faculties  of  the  soul.  Still  the  error  is  a  serious  one,  and 
ought  to  be  avoided. 

The  length  to  which  these  remarks  have  already  extend- 
ed, preclude  me  from  dwelling  on  another  species  of  adap- 
tation, which  ought  to  characterize  our  systems  of  training 
and  instruction,  i.  <?.,  adaptation  to  the  future  condition  and 
pursuits  of  a  child.  It  is  not  held,  that  early  in  life  the  boy 
or  girl  should  be  educated,  as  if  their  specific  destination 
were  already  fixed,  and  they  could  therefore  be  profitably 
employed  in  acquiring  the  peculiar  skill  and  knowledge 
which  belong  to  their  adopted  profession.  But  there  is  one 
common  destination,  to  which  all  the  people  of  this  coun- 
try seem  appointed,  and  this  is  a  life  of  useful,  and,  in  most 
cases,  laborious  occupation.  Our  children,  therefore,  need 
to  be  taught  early,  by  example  and  by  precept,  that  there  is 
respectability  and  happiness,  in  a  life  of  labour.  Instead  of 
being  dealt  with,  as  if  industry  were  a  great  hardship,  they 
should  be  taught,  practically,  that  it  is  the  appropriate  busi- 
ness, in  some  form,  of  all  mankind,  and  that  to  labour  with 
the  hands  is  no  more  necessarily  a  degradation,  than  to  la- 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  57 

bour  with  the  pen.  They  should  be  taught,  that  there  is 
scope  for  talent,  and  for  a  generous  ambition,  elsewhere,  than 
in  the  professions  usually  called  learned  or  liberal,  and  thai 
it  is  high  time  that  every  pursuit  should  be  made  liberal,  by 
being  prosecuted  in  a  liberal  and  enlightened  spirit.  And 
in  a  nation,  where  a  vast  proportion  of  the  people  must  be 
employed  in  husbandry,  the  affections  of  children  ought  to 
be  won  early  towards  rural  life.  A  taste  for  horticulture, 
and  for  the  beautiful  and  picturesque  in  nature  ;  some  knowl- 
edge of  the  principles  of  rural  economy,  and  a  proper  sense 
of  the  independence,  security,  and  happiness,  which  attach 
to  the  life  of  a  well-educated  cultivator  of  the  soil :  these 
ought  to  be  instilled  into  the  minds  of  children ;  and  those 
who  live  in  the  country,  instead  of  being  left  to  think  that 
the  path  to  happiness  and  success  leads  to  the  city  or  the 
village,  should  be  encouraged  to  seek  enjoyment,  in  the  due 
improvement  of  their  own  opportunities  and  privileges.  It 
would  be  well,  also,  if  some  knowledge  of  the  application 
of  the  first  principles  of  science  to  the  other  industrial  arts, 
were  generally  cultivated  among  the  young ;  that,  thus,  they 
might  not  only  be  better  prepared  for  the  life  of  a  mechanic 
or  artisan,  but  might  be  accustomed  to  regard  all  these  pur- 
suits of  industry,  in  their  connexion  with  science  and  liberal 
studies. 

The  last  misconception  in  regard  to  education  which 
I  shall  notice  is  one,  in  some  respects,  more  important  than 
any  or  all  others ;  since  it  involves  them  all,  and  is  apt  to 
result  in  the  greatest  evils,  both  to  individuals  and  to  soci- 
ety. It  consists  in  supposing,  that  the  great  end  and  use  of 
education  is  to  give  us  worldly  success  and  consideration.  It 
is  first  assumed,  that  these  are  our  greatest  good,  and  then 
education  is  recommended,  as  the  most  certain  means  of  ob- 
taining them.  Now  it  is  not  to  be  denied,  that  a  good  edu- 
cation does  materially  aid  us  in  acquiring  property,  reputa- 
tion, and  influence ;  but  it  will  do  this  quite  as  much,  and, 


58  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

indeed,  more,  for  those  whose  aims  are  higher  than  proper- 
ty or  reputation,  as  it  will  for  those,  who  regard  these  as 
the  ultimate  end  of  life.  He,  who  is  hent  most  earnestly  on 
discharging  his  duty,  and  on  the  improvement  of  his  own 
nature,  will  almost  invariably  prosper  in  business,  and  will 
become  to  others  the  object  of  respect  and  confidence.  He 
will  not  be  less  industrious  than  others ;  he  will  generally 
be  more  prudent  in  selecting  means,  and  more  skilful  and 
persevering  in  applying  them.  He  moves  in  harmony  with 
those  great  and  inflexible  laws  of  the  Creator  which  make 
wealth  and  dignities-  means  rather  than  ends,  and  which  ren- 
der it  impossible,  that  such  objects  should  ever  satisfy  our 
nobler  desires.  In  disregarding  these  laws,  lies  the  grand 
mistake  of  most  of  us.  We  look  for  happiness,  to  outward 
estate.  We  forget  that  "  the  mind  is  its  own  place,  and 
can  make  a  hell  of  heaven — a  heaven  of  hell."  Happiness 
can  dwell,  where  there  is  neither  wealth,  nor  pomp,  nor 
power.  Indeed,  it  rarely  dwells  where  these  are.  It  is  not 
to  be  bought  with  money.  It  cannot  be  won,  in  the  strifes, 
and  heart-burning  rivalries  of  the  fashionable  or  ambitious. 
It  is  the  reward  only  of  inward  effort — of  self-control.  It 
calls  for  that  supreme  reference  to  the  interests  of  the  mind, 
and  that  independence  of  outward  events,  which  form  the 
principle  of  faith,  and  which  can  be  found,  only  in  subordi- 
nating the  sensual  to  the  spiritual  element  of  our  nature.  It 
is  to  be  found  in  that  peace  which  passeth  understanding — 
that  contentment  which  is  inspired,  not  by  sloth  or  sensual- 
ity, but  by  a  calm  and  wise  estimate  of  the  true  ends  of 
life ;  which,  though  employed  in  acquiring,  still  holds  it 
more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive,  and  which,  in  all  its 
efforts  for  public  or  private  weal,  leaves  the  issue  to  Infinite 
Wisdom  and  Mercy.  To  attain  such  a  spirit  is  to  succeed  in 
life  ;  all  other  success  will  prove  baseless  and  unsubstantial. 
An  eloquent  writer*  has  well  exposed  this  great  and  per- 

*  Mrs.  Austin,  translator  of  Cousin's  Report  on  Public  Instruction 
in  Prussia. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  59 

nicious  error  of  many  friends  of  popular  education.  "  It 
seems  to  me,  too,  that  we  are  guilty  of  great  inconsistency 
as  to  the  ends  and  objects  of  education.  How  industrious 
ly  have  not  its  most  able  and  zealous  champions  been  con- 
tinually instilling  into  the  mind  of  the  people,  that  educa- 
tion is  the  way  to  advancement,  that  knowledge  is  power, 
that  a  man  cannot  '  better  himself  without  some  learning ! 
And  then  we  complain,  or  we  fear,  that  education  will  set 
them  above  their  station,  disgust  them  with  labour,  make 
them  ambitious,  envious,  dissatisfied !  We  must  reap  as 
we  sow  :  we  set  before  them  objects  the  most  tempting  to 
the  desires  of  uncultivated  men ;  we  urge  them  on  to  the 
acquirement  of  knowledge  by  holding  out  the  hope  that 
knowledge  will  enable  them  to  grasp  these  objects  ;  if  their 
minds  are  corrupted  by  the  nature  of  the  aim,  and  imbitter- 
ed  by  the  failure  which  must  be  the  lot  of  the  mass,  who  is 
to  blame  1 

"  If,  instead  of  nurturing  expectations  which  cannot  be 
fulfilled,  and  turning  the  mind  on  a  track  which  must  lead 
to  a  sense  of  continual  disappointment,  and  thence  of  wrong, 
we  were  to  hold  out  to  our  humbler  friends  the  appropriate 
and  attainable,  nay,  unfailing  ends  of  a  good  education  ;  the 
gentle  and  kindly  sympathies  ;  the  sense  of  self-respect 
and  of  the  respect  of  fellow-men ;  the  free  exercises  of  the 
intellectual  faculties  ;  the  gratification  of  a  curiosity  that 
'  grows  by  what  it  feeds  on,'  and  yet  finds  food  forever ; 
the  power  of  regulating  the  habits  and  the  business  of  life, 
so  as  to  extract  the  greatest  possible  portion  of  comfort  out 
of  small  means  ;  the  refining  and  tranquillizing  enjoyment 
of  the  beautiful  in  nature  and  art,  and  the  kindred  percep- 
tion of  the  beauty  and  nobility  of  virtue  ;  the  strengthening 
consciousness  of  duty  fulfilled,  and,  to  crown  all, '  the  peace 
which  passeth  all  understanding ;'  if  we  directed  their  as- 
pirations this  way,  it  is  probable  that  we  should  not  have  to 
complain  of  being  disappointed,  nor  they  of  being  deceived. 


60  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

Who  can  say  that  wealth  can  purchase  better  things  than 
these  1  and  who  can  say  that  they  are  not  within  the  reach 
of  every  man  of  sound  body  and  mind,  who,  by  labour  not 
destructive  of  either,  can  procure  for  himself  and  his  family 
food,  clothing,  and  habitation  ? 

"  It  is  true,  the  same  motives,  wearing  different  forms,  are 
presented  to  all  classes.  '  Learn'  that  you  may  '  get  on'  is 
the  motto  of  English  education.  The  result  is  answerable. 
To  those  who  think  that  result  satisfactory,  a  change  in  the 
system,  and,  above  all,  in  the  spirit  of  education,  holds  out 
no  advantages." 

I  have  thus  dwelt,  at  much  greater  length  than  I  intended, 
on  prevailing  misconceptions,  in  regard  to  the  nature  and 
end  of  education.  My  apology  is,  that  all  wise  efforts,  for 
the  improvement  of  schools  and  of  domestic  education,  must 
be  founded  on  a  clear  perception  of  the  object  to  be  attained. 
The  most  grievous  mistakes  which  are  made  in  the  man- 
agement and  tuition  of  the  young,  can  be  traced  directly 
back  to  erroneous  or  inadequate  notions  on  this  subject. 
In  dismissing  it  now,  I  do  not  know  that  I  can,  in  any  way 
so  clearly  or  forcibly  set  forth  the  views  which  I  am  anx- 
ious to  impress  on  the  reader,  as  by  presenting  an  example. 
It  is  an  example  furnished  by  our  own  history ;  and,  most 
happily,  it  is  found  in  the  person  of  him  whom  we  all  most 
delight  to  honour.  It  seems,  indeed,  a  providential  fact, 
that  the  individual,  who  draws  towards  his  name  and  mem- 
ory a  profounder  reverence  than  any  other  American,  who 
is  most  closely  identified  with  the  establishment  both  of  our 
national  independence  and  of  the  permanent  union  of  the 
States,  and  who  presents,  in  his  life  and  character,  the  most 
perfect  model  of  the  man  and  the  citizen,  should  also  have  re- 
ceived only  such  an  education,  as  ought  to  be  within  the 
reach  of  every  child  among  us. 

The  school  education  of  Washington  was  only  what  is 
usually  termed  a  common  one.  Reading,  writing,  arithme- 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  61 

tic,  and  keeping  accounts,  with  the  addition  of  Geometry 
and  Surveying,  formed  the  whole  of  his  scholastic  attain- 
ments ;  and,  like  a  large  portion  of  American  youth,  he  left 
school  before  he  reached  the  age  of  sixteen.  But  was  he, 
therefore,  uneducated  or  badly  educated  ?  He  had  already, 
even  at  that  early  age,  given  evidence  that  his  character 
was  moulding  under  the  influence  of  discipline  and  culture, 
and  that  the  foundation  was  laid  for  those  moral  and  intel- 
lectual habits,  which  formed  the  secret  of  his  power  and 
eminence  through  life.  With  great  fondness  for  athletic 
amusements,  and  even  for  military  sports,  he  combined  a 
probity  and  self-control,  which  made  him  the  object  of  uni- 
versal respect  among  his  companions,  and  which  led  to  his 
being  almost  invariably  selected  as  the  arbiter  of  their  dis- 
putes. To  show,  how  early  he  cultivated  habits  of  dili- 
gence, regularity,  and  neatness,  and  how  deeply  he  was 
impressed  with  the  importance  of  controlling  his  own  pas- 
sions, and  discharging  every  social  and  relative  duty,  Mr. 
Sparks  gives  extracts  from  one  of  his  manuscript  school- 
books,  written  before  he  was  thirteen  years  old.  Besides 
various  forms  for  the  transaction  of  business,  such  as  notes 
of  hand,  receipts,  indentures,  bonds,  &c.,  and  selections  of 
poetry  pervaded  by  a  religious  spirit,  this  book  contains 
what  he  called  Rules  of  Behaviour  in  Company  and  Conver- 
sation, compiled  by  himself  from  various  sources,  and  of 
which,  many  are  admirably  calculated  to  soften  and  polish 
the  manners,  to  keep  alive  the  best  affections  of  the  heart, 
to  inculcate  a  reverence  for  every  moral  duty,  and  especial- 
ly to  cultivate  habits  of  self-control.* 

*  "  One  hundred  and  ten  rules,"  Mr.  Sparks  says,  "  are  here  writ- 
ten out  and  numbered.  The  source  from  which  they  were  derived 
is  not  mentioned.  They  form  a  minute  code  of  regulations  for  build- 
ing up  the  habits  of  morals,  manners,  and  good  conduct  in  a  very 
young  person.  A  few  specimens  will  be  enough  to  show  their  gen- 
eral complexion ;  and  whoever  has  studied  the  character  of  Wash- 

F 


62  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

Here,  then,  at  the  early  age  of  thirteen,  we  see  in  this 
boy's  education,  the  germes  of  that  patriot,  statesman,  and 
chief,  who  was  always  to  be  "  without  fear  and  without  re- 
proach." Proper  prominence  was  assigned,  in  his  training, 
to  moral  culture.  The  greatest  pains  were  taken,  to  form 
habits  of  diligence,  and  persevering  application.  Though 
much  knowledge  was  not  conveyed  to  him  at  school,  yet 
an  active  curiosity  was  awakened,  and  a  spirit  of  self-cul- 
ture and  self-reliance  developed,  which  always  enabled 

ington,  will  be  persuaded  that  some  of  its  most  prominent  features 
took  their  shape  from  these  rules  thus  early  selected  and  adopted  as 
his  guide.''  In  the  Appendix  (No  I.)  of  the  second  volume  of  Wash- 
ington's Writings,  fifty-seven  of  these  rules  are  given.  I  extract  a 
few  of  them : 

"  1.  Every  action  in  company  ought  to  be  with  some  sign  of  re- 
spect towards  those  present. 

"  2.  Be  no  flatterer. 

"  3.  Show  not  yourself  glad  at  the  misfortune  of  another,  though 
he  were  your  enemy. 

"  4.  Strive  not  with  your  superiors  in  argument,  but  always  sub- 
mit your  judgment  to  others  with  modesty. 

"  5.  Take  all  admonitions  thankfully,  in  what  time  or  place  soever 
given ;  but  afterward,  not  being  culpable,  take  a  time  or  place  con- 
venient to  let  him  know  it  that  gave  them. 

"  6.  Use  no  reproachful  language  against  any  one,  neither  curse, 
nor  revile. 

"  7.  Let  your  conversation  be  without  malice  or  envy,  for  it  is  a 
sign  of  a  tractable  and  commendable  nature ;  and  in  all  causes  of 
passion,  admit  reason  to  govern. 

"  8.  Gaze  not  on  the  marks  or  blemishes  of  others,  and  ask  not 
how  they  came. 

"  9.  When  you  deliver  a  matter,  do  it  without  passion  and  with 
discretion,  however  mean  the  person  be  you  do  it  to. 

"  10.  In  disputes,  be  not  so  desirous  to  overcome,  as  not  to  give 
liberty  to  each  one  to  deliver  his  opinion. 

"11.  When  you  speak  of  God  or  his  attributes,  let  it  be  seriously 
in  reverence.  Honour  and  obey  your  natural  parents,  although  they 
be  poor. 

u  12.  Labour  to  keep  aiive  in  your  breast  that  little  spark  of  celes- 
tial fire  called  conscience." 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  63 

him,  even  under  the  most  difficult  and  untried  circumstan- 
ces, to  meet  the  claims  of  his  station.  In  his  case,  educa- 
tion was  made  to  perform  its  great  and  most  important  of- 
fice, by  training  its  subject  to  habits  of  ardent  and  generous 
self-improvement.  It  is  true,  doubtless,  that  education  has 
rarely  had  so  noble  a  subject  to  operate  on.  Still,  it  is  to 
be  remembered,  that  Washington  seems  to  have  had  origi- 
nally no  very  splendid  endowments,  and  that  his  strength  lay 
chiefly  in  that  fine  balance  of  powers,  and  in  that  unblench- 
ing  perseverance  of  labour  and  purpose,  which  are  the  gift 
rather  of  education  than  of  nature.  Hence  we  maintain, 
that  his  life  does  present  a  most  cheering  example  to  his 
young  countrymen.  A  sphere  so  exalted,  and  duties  so 
eventful  as  his,  will  probably  never  devolve  OH  any  of  the 
generation  of  his  countrymen  now  rising  into  iife.  But  ev- 
ery walk  of  life  affords  scope  for  energy,  diligence,  self- 
control,  and  a  lofty  public  spirit.  In  every  sphe're,  if  we 
would  be  men  and  live  as  men,  we  shall  be  called  to  mas- 
ter great  difficulties,  and  in  all  we  may  make  vast  progress 
in  knowledge  and  virtue,  and  may  render  vast  service  to 
our  country  and  race.  Let  us,  then,  remember  what  Wash- 
ington was,  and  what,  by  the  faithful  use  of  his  powers  and 
opportunities,  he  became,  and  let  us  listen  to  the  monitory 
and  inspiring  summons  which  comes  forth  from  his  life — 
"  Go  THOU  and  do  likewise."* 

*  Hume  has  shown,  in  the  following  passage,  that  he  appreciated 
the  great  and  salutary  power  of  good  example  when  combined  with 
proper  efforts  on  our  own  part.  "  The  prodigious  effects  of  educa- 
tion," he  says,  "  may  convince  us  that  the  mind  is  not  altogether 
stubborn  and  inflexible,  but  will  admit  of  many  alterations  from 
its  original  make  and  structure.  Let  a  man  propose  to  himself  the 
model  of  a  character  which  he  approves  ;  let  him  be  well  acquaint- 
ed with  those  particulars  in  which  his  own  character  deviates  from 
this  model ;  let  him  keep  a  constant  watch  over  himself,  and  bend 
his  mind,  by  a  continual  effort,  from  the  vices  towards  the  virtues, 
and  I  doubt  not  but  in  time  he  will  find  in  las  temper  an  alteration  for 
tie  better." 


64  THE    SCHOOL    AND 


SECTION  V. 

WHAT     IS     THF.     EDUCATION    MOST    NEEDED     BY    THE    AMER- 
ICAN   PEOPLE  1 

"  In  proportion  as  the  structure  of  a  government  gives  force  to 
public  opinion,  it  is  essential  that  public  opinion  should  be  enlight- 
ened."— WASHINGTON. 

"  In  vain  would  that  man  claim  the  tribute  of  patriotism  who 
should  labour  to  subvert  these  great  pillars  of  human  happiness" — 
religion  and  morality — "  these  firmest  props  of  the  duties  of  men 
and  citizens." — Ibid. 

I  HAVE  already  intimated,  that  education  is  a  right  of 
every  human  being,  and  in  the  previous  sections  of  this 
chapter,  I  have  endeavoured  to  explain,  what  kind  and  de- 
gree of  e'ducation  is  called  foi,  every  where,  by  the  condition 
of  man  as  man.  It  is  important  to  determine,  farther,  in 
what  way  the-  education  of  the  peop'e  ought  to  be  modified, 
by  the  spirit  of  the  age,  and  especially  by  the  condition  of  our 
own  country.  Every  state  of  society,  and  every  form  ol' 
government  has  its  dangers  as  well  as  advantages,  and  we 
should  never  forget,  that  it  is  through  education,  which  in- 
corporates principles  and  habits  with  the  very  nature  of 
children,  that  we  can  most  effectually  avert  the  one,  and  se- 
cure the  other.  What,  then,  are  the  dangers  and  advan- 
tages of  ova-  condition  ?  It  is  believed,  that  a  slight  exam- 
ination of  them  will  satisfy  us  that  special  and  most  anxious 
attention  ought,  now,  to  be  given  to 

1.  Moral  and  Religious  Education.  Moral  motives  and 
restraints,  which  are  always  necessary,  have  become,  in 
this  age  and  land,  of  the  last  importance.  "  Where  is  the 
security,"  asks  Washington,  in  his  farewell  address,  "  fo? 
property,  for  reputation,  for  life,  if  the  sense  of  religious  ob- 
ligation desert  the  oaths  which  are  the  instruments  of  in- 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  65 

vestigation  in  courts  of  justice,"  and  which  bind,  it  may  be 
added,  incumbents  of  office  to  the  faithful  discharge  of  their 
duties  ?  Moral  ties  once  dissolved,  those  of  a  political  na- 
ture would  be  utterly  powerless.  And  if  this  is  the  case, 
everywhere  and  at  all  times,  it  must  be  especially  so  with 
us,  and  at  this  time.  Men  are,  now,  less  patient  than  they 
once  were,  of  the  restraints  of  authority  and  even  of  law, 
and  are  more  bent  on  change.  They  are  excited,  and  some- 
times almost  maddened,  by  the  vast  revolutions  which  are 
accomplished,  with  magical  celerity,  in  the  physical  relations 
of  nations  and  individuals.  Constantly  they  are  tempted,  to 
grasp  at  glittering  prizes  held  out  by  a  material  and  sensual 
civilization,  and  to  substitute  hazardous  and  gambling  spec- 
ulation for  industry,  frugality,  and  virtue.  A  gross  and  out- 
ward success  occupies,  in  the  minds  of  the  people,  that 
place  which  ought  to  be  given  only  to  worth ;  and  a  man  is 
thought  to  be  nothing  unless  he  is  rich,  or  popular,  or  in- 
stalled in  office.  In  this  country,  with  immense  general 
industry  and  activity,  there  is  still  a  great  want  of  regular 
occupation — which  the  individual  adopts  for  life,  and  which 
he  pursues  in  a  contented  and  cheerful  spirit.  Each  one 
seems  to  be  struggling  for  something  other,  and,  as  he  vain- 
ly imagines,  better  than  his  own ;  yet,  though  rarely  satis- 
fied with  his  lot,  he  is  apt  to  be  abundantly  satisfied  with 
himself.  Politicians  find  it  expedient  to  flatter  the  people 
grossly,  in  order  to  lead  them ;  and  the  people,  while  glorying 
in  their  collective  liberty,  exhibit,  too  often,  the  sad  spectacle 
of  being,  as  individuals,  overawed  by  public  opinion  or  en- 
slaved by  faction.  In  such  a  state  of  things,  there  may  be 
a  high  degree  of  outward  refinement,  much  of  the  show  of 
virtue,  and  even  brilliant  advances  in  what  styles  itself  civ- 
ilization. The  danger  is,  lest,  under  this  fair  exterior,  the 
soul  of  true  virtue  be  eaten  out — lest  the  lower  passions  and 
propensities,  by  becoming  everywhere  predominant,  gradu- 
ally sap  the  very  foundation  of  the  social  edifice,  and  leave 
F2 


86  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

it  to  perish  through  its  own  weight  arid  rottenness.*  Situ 
ated  as  the  people  of  this  country  are,  they  cannot  too  vigi- 
lantly guard  against  the  approach  of  that  era  of  dark  and 
fatal  degeneracy,  when,  according  to  the  ironical  defini- 
tions of  Fielding,  patriot  comes  to  mean  a  candidate  for 
place  ;  worth,  power,  rank,  and  wealth ;  irisdom,  the  art  of 
getting  all  three. 

I  am  well  aware,  that  these  evils  and  dangers  are  coun- 
terpoised by  signal  advantages,  both  in  our  institutions,  and 
in  our  position.  But  with  all  these,  we  shall  still  need  the 
utmost  aid  of  moral  and  religious  culture.  We  need  that, 
in  the  absence  of  positive  laws,  the  people  shall  be  able  to 
restrain  and  direct  themselves  ;  and  that,  when  laws  are  es- 
tablished, they  shall  be  objects  of  profound  respect  and  sub- 
mission. We  need  that  our  youth  shoiild  be  taught,  in  their 
earliest  years,  to  entertain  the  deepest  horror  of  fraud  and 
falsehood,  and  to  resolve  that,  through  life,  their  faith,  when 
once  plighted,  whether  in  private  or  public  contracts,  wheth- 
er in  affairs  of  a  personal  or  political  nature,  shall  be  sacred 

*  A  great  poet  points  out  the  fatal  defect  of  this  species  of  civil- 
ization. 

"  Egyptian  Thebes, 

Tyre,  by  the  margin  of  the  sounding  waves, 
Palmyra,  central  in  the  desert,  fell, 
And  the  arts  died  by  which  they  had  been  raised. 
Call  Archimedes  from  his  buried  tomb 
Upon  the  plain  of  vanished  Syracuse, 
And  feelingly  the  sage  shall  make  report 
How  insecure,  how  baseless  in  itself, 
Is  the  philosophy  whose  sway  depends 
On  mere  material  instruments  ;  how  weak 
Those  arts  and  high  inventions,  if  unpropped 
By  Virtue  !    He,  with  sighs  of  pensive  grief 
Amid  his  calm  abstractions,  would  admit 
That  not  the  slender  privilege  is  theirs 
To  save  themselves  from  rank  forgetfumess !" 

WORDSWORTH. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  67 

and  irrevocable.  We  need  to  build  up  a  force  of  character, 
and  a  strength  of  principle,  which  will  enable  men  to 
breast  themselves  against  the  corrupt  influences  of  fashion, 
party,  and  prevailing  immorality ;  and  to  lift  their  protest, 
when  necessary,  with  meekness,  but  yet  without  fear, 
against  the  encroachments  of  an  unhallowed  public  opin- 
ion. We  need,  too,  a  training  which  shall  inspire  the 
young  with  deep  reverence  for  parents  and  for  old  age, 
with  proper  deference  towards  the  judgment  of  the  wise 
and  good  of  all  ages,  and  with  that  graceful  diffidence  in 
their  own  sagacity  and  power,  which  will  lead  them,  with- 
out surrendering  their  own  independence,  to  have  due  re- 
spect for  the  recorded  wisdom  and  experience  of  the  past.* 

*  By  reverence  I  mean  "that  earnestness  in  contemplating 
things,  which  strives  to  know  their  real  character  and  connexion, 
and  the  absence  of  arrogant  forwardness  and  self-sufficiency,  which 
considers  everything  silly,  useless,  or  unmeaning,  because  not  agree- 
ing with  its  own  views,  or  not  showing  its  character  at  once  to  the 
superficial  observer ;  and,  lastly,  the  habit  of  honesty.  We  have 
seen  that  it  is  the  high  prerogative  of  man  to  acknowledge  superiors 
and  inferiors,  to  have  laws,  and  to  obey  them  ;  but,  since  individual 
interest,  as  well  as  the  pleasure  or  allurement  of  resistance  and  op- 
position, is  in  itself  frequently  very  strong,  as  selfishness  is  but  too 
apt  to  grow  up  like  a  rank  weed,  we  ought  to  imbue  the  young  early 
with  true  loyalty,  that  is,  a  sincere  desire  to  act  as  members  of  a  so- 
ciety, according  to  rules  not.  arbitrarily  prescribed  by  themselves, 
and  with  a  submission  of  individual  will  and  desire  to  that  of  so- 
ciety. They  ought  to  learn  that  it  is  a  privilege  of  men  to  obey 
laws,  and  a  delight  to  obey  good  ones.  That  these  habits,  early 
and  deeply  inculcated,  may  lead  to  submissiveness  and  want  of  in- 
dependence, is  only  to  be  feared  when  education  is  imperfect  or 
liberty  at  a  low  ebb.  The  greater  the  liberty  enjoyed  by  a  society, 
the  more  essential  are  these  habits,  especially  in  modern  times, 
when  various  new  and  powerful  agents  of  intercommunication  and 
diffusion  of  knowledge  have  produced  a  movability  and  thirst  for 
inquiry,  which  cannot  leave  in  us  any  sincere  fear  on  the  ground  of 
dull  lameness  in  the  adult  wherever  liberty  is  at  all  established. 
The  ancients  knew  the  value  of  these  habits,  and  all  their  wise  men 


68  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

We  also  need  to  join  with  the  spirit  of  enterprise,  which 
is  carrying  forward  all  our  people  to  an  improved  condition, 
a  spirit  of  contentment  with  a  life  of  labour,  together  with 
a  just  appreciation  of  its  advantages  and  duties,  and  a  cheer- 
ful acquiescence  in  the  allotments  of  Providence.*  And, 
finally,  we  need  to  cultivate,  in  the  young,  a  settled  detesta- 
tion of  all  those  incitements  and  indulgences,  which  are 
multiplied  by  a  vulgar  civilization,  and  which  inflame  their 
lower  propensities,  while  they  arm  them  against  the  holiest 
influences  of  truth  and  virtue — such  as  the  intoxicating  cup 
and  the  gaming-table,  f  And,  while  employing  means  for 
this  purpose,  "  let  us,  with  caution,"  to  borrow  again  the 
words  of  the  great  and  Avise,  "  indulge  the  supposition,  that 

insisted  upon  them.  Nations  which  lose  the  precious  habit  of  obey- 
ing, that  is,  self-determined  obedience  to  the  laws,  because  laws, 
lose  invariably,  likewise,  the  precious  art  of  ruling.  Greece,  Rome, 
and  Spain,  for  the  last  centuries,  as  well  as  the  worst  times  of  the 
feudal  ages,  are  examples." — See  Liebcr  on  Political  Ethics. 

*  Idleness,  as  a  political  evil,  reached  its  "  classical  age"  in  the 
worst  periods  of  Grecian  democracy  and  in  Rome.  In  the  former, 
attendance  at  the  popular  assembly  came  to  be  paid  for,  as  in  the 
worst  times  of  the  French  Revolution.  During  the  decline  of  Rome, 
the  idling  wretches  sank  so  low,  that,  too  cowardly  to  march  against 
the  conquering  tribes,  they  nevertheless  were  delighted  at  seeing 
the  agony  of  the  dying  gladiator.  When  Treves  was  devastated  by 
German  predatory  tribes,  the  first  thing  which  the  inhabitants,  de  • 
prived  of  house  and  property,  asked  for,  was,  Circensian  games. — 
LIBBER'S  Political  Ethics,  vol.  ii.,  p.  243. 

t  The  contrast  between  the  energy  of  barbarians,  and  the  imbe- 
cility of  a  people  rendered  sensual  and  sordid  by  a  vicious  civiliza- 
tion, is  forcibly  exhibited,  in  the  following  passage  from  the  late 
work  of  Dumas  on  Democracy.  "  He  (Genseric)  arrived  before  Car- 
thage ;  and  while  his  troops  were  mounting  the  ramparts,  the  peo- 
ple were  descending  to  the  circus.  Without  was  the  tumult  of 
arms,  and  within,  the  resounding  echoes  of  the  games  :  at  the  foot 
of  the  walls  were  the  shrieks  and  curses  of  those  who  slipped  in 
gore  and  fell  in  the  melee  ;  on  the  steps  of  the  Amphitheatre  were 
the  songs  of  musicians  and  the  sounds  of  accompanying  flutes." 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  69 

morality  can  be  maintained  without  religion.  Whatever 
may  be  conceded  to  the  influence  of  refined  education  on 
minds  of  peculiar  structure,  reason  and  experience  both  for- 
bid us  to  expect,  that  national  morality  can  prevail  in  exclu- 
sion of  religious  principle ."* 

2.  We  need  an  intellectual  culture,  which  will  impart 
more  knowledge  and  wisdom.  Where  laws  are  but  ema- 
nations of  public  opinion,  it  is  supremely  important  that  that 
public  opinion  should  be  enlightened  ;  and  it  can  hardly  be- 
come so,  unless  men  acquire,  in  youth,  a  love  for  reading,  and 
habits  of  patient  thought.  In  proportion,  as  the  people  are 
called  to  act,  through  legislation  and  by  voluntary  associ- 
ation, on  a  greater  number  of  important  questions,  in  the 
same  proportion  is  it  necessary  that  their  range  of  informa- 
tion be  extended,  and  their  judgments  more  thoroughly  de- 
veloped. Tempted  as  Americans  are  by  bright  promises 
in  the  future,  and  living,  too,  in  the  midst  of  intense  activity 
and  excitement,  they  need,  more  than  any  other  nation, 
habits  of  careful  and  deliberate  inquiry.  They  need,  more- 
over, that  enlightened  estimate  of  the  difficulties  inherent  in 
many  subjects,  which  they  can  obtain  only  by  candid  study, 
and  which  would  tend  to  make  them  at  once  more  tolerant 
towards  those  who  think  differently,  and  less  clamorous,  in 
public  affairs,  after  one  exclusive  line  of  .policy.  In  theory, 
we  are  supposed  to  think  each  one  for  himself,  and  to  carry, 
to  the  ballot-box,  the  unbiased  re  suit  of  our  own  convictions, 
and  preferences.  Is  it  not  most  desirable,  that  the  educa- 
tion of  the  whole  people  should  become  so  improved,  that 
this  theory  can  be  reduced  to  practice,  and  that  dema- 
gogues and  all  the  leaders  of  faction  shall  see,  in  the  grow- 
ing intelligence  of  the  people,  warning  signs  of  the  decline 
of  their  own  power  and  consequence  ? 

Without  enumerating,  here,  the  various  branches  of  study, 
which  are  called  for  by  the  state  of  the  times,  and  of  our 
*  Washington's  Farewell  Address. 


70  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

own  country,  1  may  remark,  that  more  thorough  instruction 
in  the  first  principles  of  politics  is  all-important.  We  all 
read  enough  about  political  affairs  ;  but  fundamental  instruc- 
tion in  the  elements  of  the  science  of  government — in  those 
great  truths  which  guided  our  fathers  through  times  of  trial, 
and  which  can  alone  give  strength,  and  enduring  glory  to 
our  institutions  and  our  freedom — this  is  greatly  needed. 
Much  time,  which  is  now  given  to  other  studies,  might  be 
profitably  devoted  to  the  history  and  structure  of  our  gov- 
ernment, and  to  those  noble  examples  of  public  virtue  and 
achievements,  which  shine  as  lights  along  the  tract  of  the 
past.*  In  holding  up  such  examples,  however,  one  caution 
ought  to  be  observed.  The  noblest  specimens  of  our  fall- 
en nature  are  marred  by  imperfection.  Instead,  then,  of 
teaching  our  children  to  admire  great  men  in  the  gross,  we 
should  rather  teach  them  to  discriminate  between  their  acts 
of  wisdom  and  their  errors,  as  well  as  between  their  virtues 
and  their  vices.  Otherwise  the  power  of  judgment  is  grad- 
ually obscured ;  distinctions  the  most  sacred  and  important 
are  confounded  ;  and  men  are  taught  first  to  tolerate,  and  at 
length  to  admire  and  imitate,  what  they  ought  most  anxious- 
ly to  shun.  In  one  of  the  numbers  of  the  Spectator,  the 
writer  judiciously  suggests,  "  whether,  instead  of  a  themo 
or  copy  of  verses,  which  are  the  usual  exercises,  as  they 
are  called  in  the  school  phrase,  it  would  not  be  more  proper 
that  a  boy  should  be  tasked  once  or  twice  a  week  to  write 

*  To  illustrate  the  disproportioned  attention  paid,  even  in  ele- 
mentary schools,  to  mathematics  as  compared  with  moral  science, 
I  may  mention  the  following  fact,  with  which  I  met  recently  on  vis- 
iting the  teachers'  department  in  one  of  our  largest  and  best-con- 
ducted academies.  Out  of  seventy-five  young  persons  in  this  de- 
partment who  were  preparing  to  teach  district  and  other  elementary 
schools,  but  five  were  studying  history  of  any  kind  ;  none  were  stud- 
ying the  history  of  the  United  States  ;  while  thirty-four  were  study- 
ing Algebra,  and  almost  all,  Geometry,  Trigonometry,  and  Survey- 
ing. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  71 

down  his  opinion  of  such  persons  and  things  as  occur  to 
him  in  his  reading ;  that  he  should  descant  upon  the  ac- 
tions of  Turnus  or  ^Eneas,  show  wherein  they  excelled  or 
were  defective,  censure  or  approve  any  particular  action, 
observe  how  it  might  have  been  carried  to  a  greater  degree 
of  perfection,  and  how  it  exceeded  or  fell  short  of  another. 
He  might,  at  the  same  time,  mark  what  was  moral  in  any 
speech,  and  how  far  it  agreed  with  the  character  of  the 
person  speaking.  This  exercise  would  soon  strengthen  his 
judgment  in  what  is  blamable  or  praiseworthy,  and  give 
him  an  early  seasoning  of  morality."* 

3.  I  have  already  insisted  on  the  necessity  of  having 
some  reference,  even  in  the  school-education  of  children,  to 
their  future  pursuits.  I  now  remark  that,  after  leaving 
school,  each  child  should  be  bred  to  some  regular  occupa- 
tion. This  industrial  training  is  even  more  important  than 
that  given  at  school.  Without  a  definite  pursuit,  a  man  is 
an  excrescence  on  society.  He  has  no  regular  place  or 
part  to  fill,  and  is  apt  to  feel  little  concern  for  the  general 
welfare.  In  isolating  himself  from  the  cares  and  employ- 
ments of  other  men,  he  forfeits  much  of  their  sympathy,  and 
can  neither  give  nor  receive  great  benefit.  If  rich  enough  to 
live  in  idleness,  he  is,  now,  morbid  through  want  of  object  or 
interest,  and  now,  through  profligacy,  reckless  of  himself 
and  a  curse  to  others.  If  he  is  poor  and  yet  idle,  or,  even 
though  not  idle,  if  he  lives  rather  by  shifts  than  by  regular 
and  systematic  industry,  he  rarely  becomes  useful  or  re- 
spectable, and,  in  a  vast  proportion  of  cases,  sinks  to  infamy 
or  crime.  This  is  apparent  from  the  statistics  of  our  pris- 
ons ;  and  it  would  be  equally  obvious  if  we  could  analyze 

*  The  teacher  and  parent  may  derive  useful  hints  and  assistance 
in  prescribing  such  exercises,  from  that  part  of  Rollin's  Belles  Let- 
tres  which  is  devoted  to  the  study  of  History.  The  author  dwells 
at  length,  and  with  many  interesting  examples,  on  the  moral  lessons 
to  be  gathered  from  the  leading  events  and  characters  of  history. 


72  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

the  composition  of  most  mobs,  or  the  character  and  history 
of  those  who  lead  a  life  of  vice.  Dr.  Lieber  states,  that  of 
three  hundred  and  fifty-eight  criminals  whose  cases  he  had 
examined,  two  hundred  and  twenty-seven  had  never  been 
bound  out  to  any  trade  or  regular  occupation,  seventy-nine 
were  bound  out,  but  ran  away  before  they  had  stayed  out 
their  time,  and  only  fifiy-two  were  bound  out  and  remained 
with  their  respective  masters  until  the  completion  of  their 
proper  time  ;  while  the  average  term  for  which  they  were 
imprisoned  was,  in  case  of  those  who  had  served  out  their 
time,  not  quite  four  years,  whereas,  in  case  of  those  who 
ran  away,  it  was  more  than  five  years.*  Similar  facts  might 
be  multiplied  to  almost  any  extent,  and  they  show  that  this 
kind  of  education  is  truly  of  the  last  importance.  Among 
the  ancients,  the  parent  who  neglected  to  give  his  son  a 
trade  was  deemed  to  have  forfeited,  in  his  old  age,  a  claim 
upon  that  son  for  support ;  and  by  the  law  of  Solon,  which 
enforced  it  most  strenuously  in  ordinary  cases,  this  claim 
was  expressly  dispensed  with,  when  the  parent  had  been 
delinquent  in  this  matter.f 

*  Political  Ethics,  ii.,  242. 

t  One  of  the  most  striking  features,  in  the  improved  system  of 
German  education,  is  the  great  attention  paid  to  order,  economy, 
and  neatness.  "  One  of  the  circumstances,"  says  Professor  Stowe, 
"  that  interested  me  most,  was  the  excellent  order  and  rigid  econo- 
my with  which  all  the  Prussian  institutions  are  conducted.  Partic- 
ularly in  large  boarding-schools,  where  hundreds,  and  sometimes 
thousands  of  youth  are  collected  together,  the  benefits  of  the  system 
are  strikingly  manifest.  Every  boy  is  taught  to  wait  upon  himself; 
to  keep  his  person,  clothing,  furniture,  and  books  in  perfect  order 
and  neatness  ;  and  no  extravagance  in  dress,  and  no  waste  of  fuel, 
or  food,  or  property  of  any  kind,  is  permitted.  Each  student  has  his 
own  single  bed,  which  is  generally  a  light  mattress  laid  upon  a 
frame  of  slender  bars  of  iron,  because  such  beds  are  not  likely  to  be 
infested  with  insects,  and  each  one  makes  his  own  bed  and  keeps  it 
in  order.  In  the  house  there  is  a  place  for  everything,  and  every- 
thing must  be  in  its  place.  In  one  closet  are  the  shoe-brushes  and 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  73 

4.  The  state  of  our  country,  and  the  character  of  the  age, 
call  loudly  for  a  more  elegant  and  humanizing  culture.  In 
the  habits  of  a  people,  few  things  have  a  more  important  in- 
fluence, for  good  or  evil,  than  the  use  they  make  of  leisure. 
Some  relief  from  labour  men  must  have  ;  something  to  vary 
the  monotony  of  life,  and  restore  the  mind  to  a  sense  of  its 
elasticity.  If  this  relief  be  not  afforded  by  innocent  and 
improving  recreations,  it  will  be  sought  for  in  sensual  in- 
dulgence.* In  our  country  it  is  peculiarly  so.  The  ardour 

blacking,  in  another  the  lamps  and  oil,  in  another  the  fuel.  At  the 
doors  are  good  mats  and  scrapers,  and  everything  of  the  kind  neces- 
sary for  neatness  and  comfort,  and  every  student  is  taught,  as  care- 
fidly  as  he  is  taught  any  other  lesson,  to  make  a  proper  use  of  all 
these  articles  at  the  right  time,  and  then  to  leave  them  in  good  or 
der  at  their  proper  places.  Every  instance  of  neglect  is  sure  to  re- 
ceive its  appropriate  reprimand,  and,  if  necessary,  severe  punish- 
ment. I  know  of  nothing  that  can  benefit  us  more  than  the  intro- 
duction of  such  oft-repeated  lessons  on  carefulness  and  frugality  into 
all  our  educational  establishments ;  for  the  contrary  habits  of  care- 
lessness and  wastefulness,  notwithstanding  all  the  advantages  which 
we  enjoy,  have  already  done  us  immense  mischief.  Very  many  of 
our  families  waste  and  throw  away  nearly  as  much  as  they  use ; 
and  one  third  of  the  expenses  of  housekeeping  might  be  saved  by  a 
system  of  frugality.  It  is  true,  that  we  have  such  an  abundance  of 
everything,  that  this  enormous  waste  is  not  sensibly  felt,  as  it  would 
be  in  a  more  densely  populated  region  ;  but  it  is  not  always  to  be  so 
with  us. " — STOWE'S  Report  on  Elementary  Public  Instruction  in  Europe . 

*  This  want  of  resource  and  recreation  is  not  to  be  supplied  in  all 
cases  by  mere  intellectual  pursuits.  There  are  many  whose  minds 
are  not  sufficiently  cultivated  to  avail  themselves  of  these ;  they 
have  little  or  no  taste  for  them,  and  yet  are  quite  capable  of  being 
made  very  worthy,  sensible,  respectable,  and  happy  men.  Resour- 
ces must  be  provided  of  sufficient  variety  to  supply  the  different 
tastes  and  capacities  we  have  to  deal  with ;  and  we  must  not  shut 
our  gates  against  any,  merely  because  they  feel  no  ambition  to  be- 
come philosophers.  By  gently  leading  them,  or  rather,  perhaps,  by 
letting  them  find  their  own  way,  from  one  step  to  another,  you  may 
at  length  succeed  in  making  them  what  you  wish  them  to  be. 

"  It  is  with  these  views  that  I  have  endeavoured  to  provide  objects 
G 


74  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

with  which  men  engage  here  in  business,  they  carry  to 
their  pleasures ;  and,  in  the  absence  of  higher  sources  of 
exhilaration,  they  rush  to  the  gaming-table,  and,  above  all, 
to  the  intoxicating  cup.  The  contrast,  in  this  respect,  be- 
tween our  people,  and  those  of  countries  in  which  the  fine 
arts  are  generally  cultivated,  is  most  striking  and  instruct- 
ive. Take  Germany,  for  example.  There,  the  people  have 
access  to  ardent  spirits  as  well  as  wine  ;  moral  restraints 
are  not  more  powerful  than  Avith  us ;  and  yet,  in  many 
provinces,  drunkenness  is  almost  unknown.  It  will  not  be 
easy  to  find  an  explanation  for  this  fact,  except  in  the  prev- 
alence, throughout  the  same  provinces,  of  a  taste  for  music 
and  other  arts  ;  a  taste  which  has  been  developed  by  culture, 
and  in  which  all  the  people,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest, 
find  an  inexhaustible  resource.  Efforts  to  avert  the  prog- 
ress of  intemperance  are  doubtless  most  necessary  and  im- 
portant, and  they  are  eminently  worthy  of  encouragement ; 
but,  to  be  permanently  useful,  they  should  be  coupled  with 

of  interesting  pursuit  or  innocent  amusement  for  our  colony.  The 
gardens  and  the  cultivation  of  flowers,  which  is  encouraged  by  ex- 
hibitions and  prizes,  occupy  the  summer  evenings  of  many  of  the 
men  or  elder  boys.  Our  music  and  singing  engage  many  of  both 
sexes — young  and  old,  learned  and  unlearned.  We  have  a  small 
glee  class,  that  meets  once  a  week  round  a  cottage  fire.  There  is 
another,  more  numerous,  for  sacred  music,  that  meets  every  Wed- 
nesday and  Saturday  during  the  winter,  and  really  performs  very 
well ;  at  least,  I  seldom  hear  music  that  pleases  me  more.  There 
is  also  a  band,  &c.,  &c. ;  and  when  you  remember  how  few  families 
we  muster,  not  more  than  seventy  or  eighty,  you  will  think,  with  me, 
that  we  are  quite  a  musical  society,  and  that  any  trouble  I  took  at 
first  to  introduce  this  pursuit  has  been  amply  repaid.  You  must 
observe  that  all  these  instruments  are  entirely  their  own,  and  of 
their  own  purchasing.  I  have  nothing  to  da  with  them  farther  than 
now  and  then  helping  them  to  remunerate  their  teachers." 

"  We  find  drawing  almost  as  useful  a  resource  as  music,  except 
that  a  much  smaller  number  engage  in  it." — Letter  of  an  English 
Manufacturer  on  the  Elevation  of  the  Labouring  Classes 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER. 


75 


measures  to  supply,  from  higher  and  purer  sources,  the  ex- 
hilaration which  men,  when  at  leisure,  always  require.  If 
the  mind  of  the  reclaimed  drunkard  be  left  to  brood  over  va- 
cancy, we  must  not  be  surprised  that  he  returns  to  his  cups  ; 
nor  must  we  wonder  that  so  many,  who  are  now  forming 
habits  of  indulgence,  decline  surrendering  their  pleasures, 
when  they  are  offered  no  substitute.  In  order  to  effect  a 
lasting  change  in  the  habits  of  the  people,  we  must  raise  and 
purify  their  tastes.  Hence  the  importance  of  libraries,  of 
associations  for  mutual  improvement,  and  of  every  institution 
which  proposes  the  diffusion  of  knowledge.* 

The  fine  arts,  however,  have  one  advantage  which  can 
hardly  be  claimed  for  books.  As  things  now  stand,  each 

*  "  Let  no  superficial  judgment  regard  as  illusory  the  beneficent 
moral  effect  here  imputed  to  general  diffusive  education." 

"  The  most  prevalent  vice  of  the  United  States  is  intoxication. 
How  many  youth  of  bright  promise,  how  many  really  amiable  men 
of  advanced  age,  annually  fall  victims  to  this  destructive  habit ! 
Would  this  occur  if  the  head  of  each  family  found  in  its  bosom  the 
soothing  enjoyment  of  intellectual  converse  in  his  hours  of  domes- 
tic retirement  and  leisure  1  if  among  his  domestic  circle  each  mem- 
ber could  contribute  something  to  enliven  his  hours  of  rest  in  the 
sultry  midday  heat  of  summer,  or  the  long  nights  of  winter  1  or, 
when  conversation  had  exhausted  its  stores,  could  cheer  him  with 
agreeable  narratives  of  biography  and  history,  of  voyages  and  trav- 
els, or  the  lessons  of  more  profitable  knowledge  extracted  from  the 
neighbouring  newspaper  and  village  library  1" 

"  Would  well-educated  youth,  brought  up  to  respect  labour,  after 
seeking  in  vain  for  lucrative  employment  in  the  crowded  professions 
of  law  and  physic,  abandon  themselves  to  this  suicidal  vice,  rathei 
than  seek  an  honourable  subsistence  in  rural  and  mechanical  pur 
suits  V 

"  Would  old  men  of  amiable,  and  even  polished  manners,  after  a 
life  of  generous  hospitality,  or  a  manhood  devoted  to  the  public  ser- 
vice, but  uninspired  by  that  religious  hope  that  brightens  at  ap- 
proaching dissolution,  sink  into  this  Lethean  gulf,  because  they 
could  find  nothing  to  interest  them  longer  in  this  world,  and  time 
had  become  an  insupportable  burden  1" — C.  F.  MEECEE. 


"76  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

one  reads  such  book  as  gratifies  his  own  taste,  or  as  maybe 
thrown  in  his  way  by  chance,  or  by  the  design  of  others. 
The  consequence  is,  that  the  reading  of  many  men  only 
contributes  to  strengthen  their  lower  propensities.  This 
can  hardly  be  the  case  with  the  fine  arts.  Their  produc- 
tions are  more  limited  in  their  range,  and  are  exposed  to 
more  general  scrutiny.  Among  a  people,  too,  who  have 
such  notions  of  decorum  as  prevail  with  us,  these  arts  can 
hardly  venture  to  appeal,  openly  and  directly,  to  our  worst 
passions. 

There  is  another  benefit,  to  be  anticipated  in  our  country, 
from  the  cultivation  of  a  taste  for  the  arts,  to  which  I  will 
advert  in  this  connexion.  Foreign  travellers  have  com- 
plained of  the  American  people,  that  they  rarely  have  leis- 
ure, and  that,  when  they  have,  they  know  not  how  to  enjoy 
it.  There  is  some  truth  in  the  remark.  We  are  eminent- 
ly a  working  people.  Part  of  this  industry  results,  no 
doubt,  from  our  condition,  and  from  the  powerful  incite- 
ments to  enterprise,  afforded  by  a  young  and  prosperous 
country.  Part  of  it,  however,  seems  to  result  from  impa- 
tience of  rest.  Not  a  few  of  the  rash  adventures  and  ru- 
inous speculations,  by  which  we  have  distinguished  our- 
selves of  late,  had  their  origin  in  a  love  of  excitement, 
and  in  our  aversion  to  being  without  employment.  A  partial 
remedy  for  this  evil,  might  be  found  by  diffusing  a  taste  for 
the  elegant  and  ornamental  arts.  These  arts  would  furnish 
that  moderate  and  agreeable  excitement  which  is  so  desira- 
ble in  the  intervals  of  labour.  They  would  tranquillize,  in 
some  degree,  the  minds  which  have  been  agitated  by  bu- 
siness, and  would  dispose  them  to  seek  more  frequent  re- 
lief from  its  cares,  and  to  plunge  with  less  haste  into  new, 
hazardous,  and  anxious  undertakings.  They  would  teach 
us  all,  that  there  is  a  time  for  rest  and  refreshment  as  well 
as  for  exertion  ;  and  that  the  one  may  conduce  as  well  as 
the  other,  not  only  to  our  enjoyment  and  dignity,  but  also 
to  our  permanent  prosperity  in  business. 


THE   SCHOOLMASTER.  tl 

It  may  be  alleged,  by  way  of  objection,  that  the  arts  are 
liable  to  abuse,  and  that  they  have,  sometimes,  been  enlist* 
ed,  in  the  service  of  vice  and  licentiousness.  This  is  doubt- 
less true  of  art,  as  it  is  of  literature.  But  in  regard  to  the 
latter,  we  encourage  men  to  cultivate  it,  and  we  give  them 
access  to  books  of  all  kinds,  because  we  are  confident  that> 
with  a  fair  field,  truth  and  right  must  ultimately  triumph. 
So  we  would  encourage  the  arts,  because  we  believe  that 
the  natural  affinities  of  the  humankind  will  in  the  end  se* 
cure  a  preference  for  works  conceived  in  a  pure  taste  ;  and 
that  in  our  country,  this  would  at  once  be  the  case,  so  far  as 
moral  considerations  are  involved.  It  must  be  rernembered> 
that  the  noblest  efforts  of  art  have  been  made  in  the  service 
of  virtue  and  religion.  History  shows  that  the  wing  of  Fan* 
cy  has  always  drooped  when  she  attempted  to  soar  in  a 
sensual  or  misanthropic  mood.  At  such  seasons  she  can* 
not  gaze  upon  the  unveiled  sun  ;  her  visions  are  dim  and 
earthly  ;  they  do  violence  to  truth  and  nature,  and  are  soon 
consigned  to  merited  obscurity. 

Among  a  volatile  and  dissipated  people,  the  arts  would 
doubtless  be  rendered  subservient  to  amusement  and  licen* 
tious  indulgence.  It  would  be  at  the  expense,  however,  of 
their  highest  excellence.  On  the  other  hand,  among  a 
grave  people,  charged  with  serious  cares,  they  would  be 
likely  to  take  a  different  type,  and  contribute,  as  music  has 
always  done  in  Germany  since  the  days  of  Luther,  to  the 
refinement  of  taste  and  the  strengthening  of  moral  feeling^ 
The  greatest  composers  of  that  land  have  consecrated  their 
genius  to  the  service  of  religion.  Haydn,  whose  memory 
is  so  honoured,  was  deeply  religious.  His  Oratorio  of  the 
Creation  was  produced,  as  he  himself  tells  us,  at  a  time 
v  hen  he  was  much  in  prayer.  In  writing  musical  scores, 
he  was  accustomed  to  place,  both  at  the  beginning  and  at 
the  close  of  each  one,  a  Latin  motto,  expressive  of  his  pro- 
found feeling,  that  he  was  dependant  on  God  in  all  his  ef- 
G2 


78  THE    SCHOOL   AflD 

forts,  and  that  to  His  glory  should  be  consecrated  every 
offspring  of  his  genius. 

The  mention  of  music  leads  me  to  notice  the  special 
claims  which  that  art  has  upon  us.  All  men  have  been 
endowed  with  susceptibility  to  its  influence.  The  child  is 
no  sooner  born,  than  the  nurse  begins  to  sooth  it  to  repose 
by  music.  Through  life,  music  is  employed  to  animate  the 
depressed,  to  inspire  the  timid  with  courage,  to  lend  new 
wings  to  devotion,  and^>  give  utterance  to  joy  or  sorrow. 
It  is  pre-eminently  the  language  of  the  heart.  The  under- 
standing gains  knowledge,  through  the  eye.  The  heart  is 
excited  to  emotion,  through  tones  falling  on  the  ear.  And 
so  universal,  is  the  disposition  to  resort  to  music,  for  the 
purpose  of  either  expressing  or  awakening  emotion,  that 
the  great  dramatist,  that  master  in  the  science  of  the  heart, 
declares  that 

"  The  man  that  hath  no  music  in  himself, 

Nor  is  not  moved  with  concord  of  sweet  sounds, 
Is  fit  for  treason,  stratagems,  and  spoils  ; 
The  motions  of  his  spirit  are  dull  as  night, 
And  his  affections  dark  as  Erebus  : 
Let  no  such  man  be  trusted." 

Well  may  this  be  said  of  an  art  which  has  power  to  raise 
the  coarsest  veteran  to  noble  sentiments  and  deeds,  and  to 
inspire  the  rawest  and  most  timorous  recruit  with  a  con- 
tempt of  death. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  too,  that,  as  the  susceptibility  to 
no  other  art  is  so  universal,  so  none  seems  to  have  so  strong 
an  affinity  for  virtue,  and  for  the  purer  and  gentler  affections. 
It  is  affirmed  as  a  curious  fact,  that  the  natural  scale  of  mu- 
sical sounds  can  only  produce  good  and  kindly  feelings, 
and  that  this  scale  must  be  reversed,  if  you  would  call 
forth  sentiments  of  a  degraded  or  vicious  character.  It 
is  certain  that,  from  the  fabled  days  of  Orpheus  and  Apollo, 
music  has  always  been  regarded  as  the  handmaid  of  civili- 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  79 

zation  and  moral  refinement.  Wherever  we  would  awake 
the  better  affections,  whether  in  the  sanctuary  or  the  closet, 
in  the  school  for  infants  or  in  the  House  of  Refuge  for  ju- 
venile delinquents,  we  employ  its  aid. 

The  Germans  have  a  proverb,  which  has  come  down  from 
Luther,  that,  where  music  is  not,  the  devil  enters.  As  Da- 
vid took  his  harp,  when  he  would  cause  the  evil  spirit  to 
depart  from  Saul,  so  the  Germans  employ  it  to  expel  obdu- 
racy from  the  hearts  of  the  depraved.  In  their  schools  for 
the  reformation  of  youthful  offenders,  (and  the  same  remark 
might  be  applied  to  those  of  our  own  country),  music  has 
been  found  one  of  the  most  effectual  means  of  inducing  do- 
cility among  the  stubborn  and  vicious.*  It  would  seem  that 
so  ong  as  any  remains  of  humanity  linger  in  the  heart,  it 

*  "At  Berlin  I  visited  an  establishment  for  the  reformation  of 
youthful  offenders.  Here  boys  are  placed,  who  have  committed  of- 
fences that  bring  them  under  the  supervision  of  the  police,  to  be  in-- 
structed  and  rescued  from  vice,  instead  of  being  hardened  in  iniquity 
by  living  in  the  common  prison  with  old  offenders.  It  is  under  the 
care  of  Dr.  Kopf,  a  most  simple-hearted,  excellent  old  gentleman ; 
just  such  a  one  as  reminded  us  of  the  ancient  Christians,  who  lived 
in  the  times  of  the  persecution,  simplicity,  and  purity  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church.  He  has  been  very  successful  in  reclaiming  the  young 
offender ;  and  many  a  one,  who  would  otherwise  have  been  forever 
lost,  has,  by  the  influence  of  this  institution,  been  saved  to  himself, 
to  his  country,  and  to  God.  As  I  was  passing  with  Dr.  K.  from 
room  to  room,  I  heard  some  beautiful  voices  singing  in  an  adjoining 
apartment,  and,  on  entering,  I  found  about  twenty  of  the  boys  sitting 
at  a  long  table,  making  clothes  for  the  establishment,  and  singing  at 
their  Work.  The  doctor  enjoyed  my  surprise,  and,  on  going  out,  re- 
marked, '  I  always  keep  these  little  rogues  singing  at  their  work ; 
for  while  the  children  sing  the  devil  cannot  come  among  them  at 
all ;  he  can  only  sit  out  doors  there  and  growl ;  but  if  they  stop 
singing,  in  the  devil  comes.'  The  Bible  and  the  singing  of  religious 
hymns  are  among  the  most  efficient  instruments  which  he  employs 
for  softening  the  hardened  heart,  and  bringing  the  vicious  and  stub- 
born will  to  docility." — Report  of  Professor  Stowe  on  Elementary  Pub' 
AC  Instruction  in  Europe. 


80  THE    SCHOOL   AND 

retains  its  susceptibility  to  music.  And  as  proof  that  this 
music  is  more  powerful  for  good  than  for  evil,  is  it  not  wor- 
thy of  profound  consideration  that,  in  all  the  intimations 
which  the  Bible  gives  us  of  a  future  world,  music  is  associ- 
ated only  with  the  employments  and  happiness  of  Heaven  ? 

We  read  of  no  strains  of  music  coming  up  from  the  re- 
gions of  the  lost.  To  associate  its  melodies  and  harmonies 
with  the  wailings  and  convulsions  of  reprobate  spirits  would 
be  doing  violence,  as  all  feel,  to  our  conceptions  of  its  true 
character.*  Nothing  could  illustrate  more  impressively  its 
natural  connexion  with  our  better  nature.  Abused  it  doubt- 
less may  be — -for  which  of  God's  gifts  is  not  abused  ? — but  its 
value,  when  properly  employed  as  a  means  of  culture,  as  a 
source  of  refined  pleasure,  and  as  the  proper  aid  and  ally  of 
our  efforts  and  aspirations  after  good,  is  clear  and  unques- 
tionable. "  In  music,"  says  Hooker,  "  the  very  image  of 
vice  and  virtue  is  perceived.  It  is  a  thing  that  delighteth 
all  ages  and  beseemeth  all  states — a  thing  as  seasonable  in 
grief  as  joy,  as  decent  being  added  to  actions  of  greatest 
solemnity,  as  being  used  when  men  sequester  themselves 
from  actions." 

So  -the  pious  Bishop  Beveridge :  "  That  which  I  have 
found  the  best  recreation  both  to  my  mind  and  body,  when- 
soever either  of  them  stands  in  need  of  it,  is  music,  which  ex- 
ercises at  once  both  my  body  and  soul,  especially  when  I 
play  myself ;  for  then,  methinks,  the  same  motion  that  my 
hand  makes  upon  the  instrument,  the  instrument  makes  upon 
my  heart.  It  calls  in  my  spirits,  composes  my  thoughts,  de- 
lights my  ear,  recreates  my  mind,  and  so  not  only  fits  me  for 
after  business,  but  fills  my  heart  at  the  present  with  pure  and 

*  Has  not  Milton  offered  violence  both  to  nature  and  revelation, 
in  the  picture  which  he  draws  towards  the  close  of  the  first  book  of 
his  Paradise  Lost,  where  he  represents  the  legions  of  Satan  as  mo- 
ving  "  in  perfect  phalanx  to  the  Dorian  mood  of  flutes  and  soft  re- 
corders," "soft  pipes  that  charmed  their  painful  steps,"  &c.,  &c: 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  81 

useful  thoughts  ;  so  that,  when  the  music  sounds  the  sweet- 
liest  in  my  ears,  truth  commonly  flows  the  clearest  in  my 
mind.  And  hence  it  is  that  I  find  my  soul  is  become  more 
harmonious  by  being  accustomed  so  much  to  harmony,  and 
adverse  to  all  manners  of  discord,  that  the  least  jarring 
sounds,  either  in  notes  or  words,  seem  very  harsh  and  un- 
pleasant to  me."  •'•.,•' 

I  have  spoken  of  the  fact,  that  all  men  are  more  or  less 
susceptible  to  the  influence  of  music.  It  is  also  true  that 
all  can  acquire  the  rudiments  of  the  art.  It  has  long  been 
supposed  that,  in  order  to  learn  to  sing,  a  child  must  be  en- 
dowed with  what  is  called  a  musical  ear.  That  this,  how- 
ever, is  an  error,  is  evident  from  experiments  which  have 
been  made  on  the  most  extensive  scale  in  Germany,  and 
which  are  now  repeating  in  this  country.  In  Germany,  al- 
most every  child  at  school,  is  instructed  in  singing,  as  well  as 
in  reading.  The  result  is,  that  though  in  this  respect,  as  in 
many  others,  there  is  great  difference  in  the  natural  aptitude 
of  children,  still  all  who  can  learn  to  read,  can  also  learn  to 
sing.*  It  is  found,  farther,  that  this  knowledge  can  be  ac- 

*  "  The  universal  success,  also,  and  very  beneficial  results,  with 
which  the  arts  of  drawing  and  designing,  vocal  and  instrumental 
music,  moral  instruction,  and  the  Bible,  have  been  introduced  into 
schools,  was  another  fact  peculiarly  interesting  to  me.  I  asked  all 
the  teachers  with  whom  I  conversed,  whether  they  did  not  sometimes 
find  children  who  were  actually  incapable  of  learning  to  draw  and  to 
sing.  I  have  had  but  one  reply,  and  that  was,  that  they  found  the 
same  diversity  of  natural  talent  in  regard  to  these  as  in  regard  to 
reading,  writing,  and  the  other  branches  of  education  ;  but  they  had 
never  seen  a  child  who  was  capable  of  learning  to  read  and  write,  who 
could  not  be  taught  to  sing  well  and  draw  neatly,  and  that,  too,  with- 
out taking  any  time  which  would  at  all  interfere  with,  indeed,  which 
would  not  actually  promote,  his  progress  in  other  studies.  In  re- 
gard to  the  necessity  of  moral  instruction,  and  the  beneficial  influ- 
ence of  the  Bible  in  schools,  the  testimony  was  no  less  explicit 
and  uniform.  I  inquired  of  all  classes  of  teachers,  and  of  men  of 
every  grade  of  religious  faith  ;  instructors  in  common  schools,  high 


82  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

quired  without  interfering  with  the  other  branches  of  study, 
and  with  evident  benefit  both  to  the  disposition  of  the 
scholars,  and  the  discipline  of  the  school.  A  gentleman 
who,  in  this  country,  has  had  more  than  4000  pupils  in  mu- 
sic, affirms  that  his  experience  gives  the  same  result.  The 
number  of  schools  among  us,  in  which  music  is  made  one 
of  the  regular  branches  of  elementary  instruction,  is  already 
great,  and  is  constantly  increasing,  and  I  have  heard  of  no 
case  in  which,  with  proper  training,  every  child  has  not 
been  found  capable  of  learning.  Indeed,  the  fact,  that 
among  the  ancients  and  in  the  schools  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
music  was  regarded  as  indispensable  in  a  full  course  of  ed- 
ucation, might  of  itself  teach  us,  that  the  prejudice  in  ques- 
tion is  founded  in  error. 

Another  consideration  which  gives  music  special  claims 
on  our  regard  as  a  branch  of  culture,  is,  that  the  best  speci- 
mens of  the  art  are  within  our  reach.  It  is  rare,  that  the  pupil 
can  ever  look,  in  this  country,  on  the  original  works  of  a  mas- 
ter, in  painting  or  sculpture.  We  have  engravings,  casts, 

schools,  and  schools  of  art ;  of  professors  in  colleges,  universities, 
and  professional  seminaries  in  cities  and  in  the  country ;  in  places 
where  there  was  a  uniformity  and  in  places  where  there  was  a  di- 
versity of  creeds  ;  of  believers  and  unbelievers  ;  of  rationalists  and 
enthusiasts ;  of  Catholics  and  Protestants,  and  I  never  found  but  one 
reply ;  and  that  was,  that  to  leave  the  moral  faculty  uninstraeted 
was  to  leave  the  most  important  part  of  the  human  mind  undevel- 
oped, and  to  strip  education  of  almost  everything  that  can  make  it 
valuable ;  and  that  the  Bible,  independently  of  the  interest  attend- 
ing it,  as  containing  the  most  ancient  and  influential  writings  ever 
iccorded  by  human  hands,  and  comprising  the  religious  system  tit 
almost  the  whole  of  the  civilized  world,  is  in  itself  the  best  book 
that  can  be  put  into  the  hands  of  children  to  interest,  to  exercise, 
and  to  unfold  the  intellectual  and  moral  powers.  Every  teacher 
whom  I  consulted  repelled  with  indignation  the  idea  that  moral  in- 
struction is  not  proper  for  schools,  and  that  the  Bible  cannot  be  in- 
troduced into  common  schools  without  encouraging  sectarian  bias 
in  the  matter  of  teaching." — STOWE'S  Report,  &c. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  83 

and  other  copies,  but  they  can  give  us  only  faint  conceptions 
of  the  artist's  design,  and  of  his  execution  hardly  an  idea. 
In  written  music,  we  have  a  transcript  of  the  conceptions 
of  the  composer,  almost  as  complete  as  in  written  poetry  or 
eloquence,  and  as  easy  of  access. 

In  all  these  arts,  however,  much  may  be  done  to  call 
forth  and  improve  the  taste  of  our  people.  By  multiplying 
exhibitions  of  art ;  by  extending  patronage  to  the  native  tal- 
ent for  painting  and  sculpture  which  abounds  among  us  ;  by 
promoting  efforts  for  the  diffusion  of  a  correct  taste  in  music, 
and  a  love  for  that  art,  so  essential  in  our  devotions,  and  so 
useful  everywhere  ;  and,  finally  and  especially,  by  introdu- 
cing elementary  instruction,  both  in  music  and  drawing,  into 
our  schools,  we  can  do  much  towards  securing  for  our  land 
the  multiplied  blessings  which  would  result  from  the  gen- 
eral love  of  art. 

Says  a  late  Report  of  the  School  Committee  of  the  City 
of  Boston,  when  speaking  of  Drawing,  "  Your  committee 
cannot  help  remarking,  as  they  pass,  that,  in  their  opinion, 
there  is  no  good  reason  for  excluding  the  art  of  linear  draw- 
ing from  any  liberal  scheme  of  popular  instruction.  It  has 
a  direct  tendency  to  quicken  that  important  faculty,  the  fac- 
ulty of  observation.  It  is  a  supplement  to  writing.  It  is  in 
close  alliance  with  geometry.  It  is  conversant  with  form, 
and  intimately  connected  with  all  the  improvements  in  the 
mechanic  arts.  In  all  the  mechanical,  and  many  of  the 
other  employments  of  life,  it  is  of  high  practical  utility. 
Drawing,  like  music,  is  not  an  accomplishment  only ;  it  has 
important  uses  :  and  if  music  be  successfully  introduced 
into  our  public  schools,  your  committee  express  the  hope 
and  the  conviction  that  drawing,  sooner  or  later,  will  fol- 
low." 

In  the  same  report  the  committee  observe,  "  There  are 
said  to  be  at  this  time  not  far  from  eighty  thousand  com- 
mon schools  in  this  country,  in  which  are  to  be  found  the 


84  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

people  who,  in  coming  years,  will  mould  the  character  of 
this  democracy.  If  vocal  music  were  generally  adopted  as 
a  branch  of  instruction  in  these  schools,  it  might  be  reason- 
ably expected,  that  in  at  least  two  generations,  we  should 
be  changed  into  a  musical  people.  The  great  point  to  be 
considered,  in  reference  to  the  introduction  of  vocal  music 
into  popular  elementary  instruction,  is,  that  thereby  you  set 
in  motion  a  mighty  power,  which  silently,  but  surely  in  the 
end,  will  humanize,  refine,  and  elevate  a  whole  communi- 
ty.* Music  is  one  of  the  fine  arts  ;  it  therefore  deals  with 

*  "We  have  listened,"  says  a  recent  traveller  in  Switzerland,  "  to 
the  peasant  children's  songs,  as  they  went  out  to  their  morning  oc- 
cupations, and  saw  their  hearts  enkindled  to  the  highest  tones  of 
music  and  poetry  by  the  setting  sun  or  the  familiar  objects  of  na- 
ture, each  of  which  was  made  to  echo  some  truth,  or  point  to  some 
duty,  by  an  appropriate  song.  We  have  heard  them  sing  '  the  har- 
vest hymn'  as  they  went  forth,  before  daylight,  to  gather  in  the 
grain.  We  have  seen  them  assemble  in  groups  at  night,  chanting 
a  hymn  of  praise  for  the  glories  of  the  heavens,  or  joining  in  some 
patriotic  chorus  or  some  social  melody,  instead  of  the  frivolous  and 
corrupting  conversation  which  so  often  renders  such  meetings  the 
source  of  evil.  In  addition  to  this,  we  visited  communities  where 
the  youth  had  been  trained  from  their  childhood  to  exercises  in  vo- 
cal music,  of  such  a  character  as  to  elevate  instead  of  debasing  the 
mind,  and  have  found  that  it  served  in  the  same  manner  to  cheer 
their  social  assemblies,  in  place  of  the  noise  of  folly  or  the  poisoned 
cup  of  intoxication.  We  have  seen  the  young  men  of  such  a  com- 
munity assembled  to  the  number  of  several  hundreds,  from  a  cir- 
cuit of  twenty  miles ;  and,  instead  of  spending  a  day  of  festivity  in 
rioting  and  drunkenness,  pass  the  whole  time,  with  the  exception  of 
that  employed  in  a  frugal  repast  and  a  social  meeting,  in  a  concert 
of  social,  moral,  and  religious  hymns,  and  devote  the  proceeds  of 
the  exhibition  to  some  object  of  benevolence.  We  could  not  but 
look  at  the  contrast  presented  on  similar  occasions  in  our  own  coun- 
try with  a  blush  of  shame.  We  have  visited  a  village  whose  whole 
moral  aspect  was  changed  in  a  few  years  by  the  introduction  of 
music  of  this  character,  even  among  adults,  and  where  the  aged 
were  compelled  to  express  their  astonishment  at  seeing  the  young 
abandon  their  corrupting  and  riotous  amusements  for  this  delightful 
and  improving  exercise." 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  85 

abstract  beauty,  and  so  lifts  man  to  the  source  of  all  beauty 
• — from  finite  to  infinite,  and  from  the  world  of  matter  to  the 
world  of  spirits  and  to  God.  Music  is  the  great  handmaid 
of  civilization.  Whence  come  those  traditions  of  a  rever- 
end antiquity — seditions  quelled,  cures  wrought,  fleets  and 
armies  governed  by  the  force  of  song — whence  that  respond- 
ing of  rocks,  woods,  and  trees  to  the  harp  of  Orpheus — 
whence  a  city's  walls  uprising  beneath  the  wonder-working 
touches  of  Apollo's  lyre  ?  These,  it  is  true,  are  fables  :  yet 
they  shadow  forth,  beneath  the  veil  of  allegory,  a  profound 
truth.  They  beautifully  proclaim  the  mysterious  union  be- 
tween music,  as  an  instrument  of  man's  civilization,  and  the 
soul  of  man.  Prophets  and  wise  men,  large-minded  law- 
givers of  an  olden  time,  understood  and  acted  on  this  truth. 
The  ancient  oracles  were  uttered  in  song.  The  laws  of 
the  Twelve  Tables  were  put  to  music  and  got  by  heart  at 
school.  Minstrel  and  sage  are,  in  some  languages,  con- 
vertible terms.  Music  is  allied  to  the  highest  sentiments 
of  man's  moral  nature  :  love  of  God,  love  of  country,  love 
of  friends.  Wo  to  the  nation  in  which  these  sentiments 
are  allowed  to  go  to  decay !  WThat  tongue  can  tell  the  un- 
utterable energies  that  reside  in  these  three  engines  — 
church  music,  national  airs,  and  fireside  melodies  —  as 
means  of  informing  and  enlarging  the  mighty  heart  of  a  free 
people !" 

In  thus  Ascribing  the  kind  of  education  which  is  called 
for  by  the  situation  of  our  country  and  the  spirit  of  the  age, 
I  have  referred,  not  only  to  school  education,  but  to  all  the 
agencies,  which  tend  to  form  the  minds,  and  characters  of 
the  rising  generation.  It  is  one  thing  to  set  forth  what  this 
education  ought  to  be,  and  quite  another  to  determine  what 
it  actually  is.  On  this  latter  point,  all  who  wish  well  to 
their  country  ought  to  speak  plainly  ;  their  evidence  should 
be  given  in  without  prejudice  or  passion ;  with  no  alloy  of 

H 


86  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

party  feeling  ;  and  with  a  single  desire  to  see  the  American 
people  fulfilling  the  high  destiny  marked  out  for  them  by 
Providence.  He  is  the  best  friend  of  his  country  who,  on 
such  subjects,  utters  the  truth,  and  the  whole  truth.  It  is, 
unhappily,  the  interest  of  many  in  every  party,  who  wish 
to  use  the  people  for  the  accomplishment  of  their  own  sor- 
did purposes,  to  lavish  upon  them  the  most  unbounded  pro- 
fessions of  confidence  in  their  wisdom  :  and  it  is  not  "easy, 
in  such  a  state  of  things,  for  one,  however  loyal  to  the  in- 
stitutions of  his  country,  or  however  devoted  to  the  popular 
welfare,  to  hint  at  prevailing  imperfections,  without  incur- 
ring reproach  and  exposing  himself  to  misapprehension. 
And  yet,  if  this  is  not  done,  if  he  who  thinks  he  sees  dan- 
gerous maxims  pervading  the  popular  mind,  and  radical  de- 
fects in  existing  systems  of  education,  may  not  proclaim 
them  boldly,  and  with  impunity,  too,  where  is  our  boasted 
freedom,  and  where  the  hope  that  our  future  shall  be  better 
than  our  past  ?  All  advancement  in  a  higher  civilization 
must  be  the  result  of  a  clear  perception  of  existing  evils 
and  dangers  ;  and  such  perception  can  evidently  never  be 
attained  unless  individuals  are  free  to  discuss  and  expose 
them. 

I  ask,  then,  what  is  the  aggregate  intelligence  and  moral 
culture  bestowed  by  education  on  the  people  of  this  coun- 
try 1  I  answer,  in  the  words  of  one  who  has  always  been 
known  as  the  advocate  of  the  largest  liberty,  and  whose 
firmness  in  the  declaration  of  his  opinions  has  only  been 
equalled  by  the  sincerity  with  which,  in  the  estimation  of 
all  his  fellow-citizens,  he  has  held  them.* 

"  Nothing  is  more  common  than  for  public  journalists  to 
extol  in  unmeasured  terms  '  the  intelligence  of  the  commu- 
nity.' On  all  occasions,  according  to  them,  Vox  populi  est 
vox  Dei.  We  are  pronounced  to  be  a  highly  cultivated,  in- 
tellectual, and  civilized  people.  When  we,  the  people, 
*  T-ecture  on  Civilization,  by  Samuel  Young. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  87 

called  for  the  exclusion  of  small  bills,  we  were  right ; 
when  we  called  for  the  repeal  of  the  exclusion,  we  were 
equally  right.  We  are  divided  into  political  parties  nearly 
equal,  but  we  are  both  right.  We  disagree  respecting  the 
fundamental  principles  of  government ;  we  quarrel  about 
the  laws  of  a  circulating  medium  ;  we  are  bank  and  anti- 
bank,  tariff  and  anti-tariff,  for  a  national  bankrupt  law  and 
against  a  national  bankrupt  law,  for  including  corporations 
and  for  excluding  corporations,  for  unlimited  internal  im- 
provement, judicious  internal  improvement,  and  for  no  in- 
ternal improvement.  We  have  creeds,  sects,  denom- 
inations, and  faiths  of  all  varieties,  each  insisting  that  it  is 
right,  and  that  all  the  others  are  wrong.  We  have  cold 
water  societies,  but  many  more  that  habitually  deal  in  hot 
water.  We  are  anti-masonic  and  masonic,  '  pro-slavery 
and  anti-slavery  ;'  and  are  spiced  and  seasoned  with  ab- 
olitionism, immediateism,  gradualism,  mysticism,  material- 
ism, agrarianism,  sensualism,  egotism,  skepticism,  ideal- 
ism, transcendentalism,  Van  Burenism,  Harrisonism,  Mor- 
monism,  and  animal  magnetism.  Every  public  and  private 
topic  has  its  furious  partisans,  struggling  with  antagonists 
equally  positive  and  unyielding,  and  yet  we  are  told  that 
we  are  a  well-informed,  a  highly  civilized  people. 

"  If  we  look  to  our  legislative  halls,  to  the  lawgivers  of  the 
land,  to  the  men  who  have  been  selected  for  the  greatest 
wisdom  and  experience,  we  shall  see  the  same  disagree- 
ment and  collision  on  every  subject. 

"  He  who  would  play  the  politician  must  shut  his  eyes  to 
all  this,  and  talk  incessantly  of  the  intelligence  of  the  peo- 
ple. Instead  of  attempting  to  lead  the  community  in  the 
right  way,  he  must  go  with  them  in  the  wrong. 

"  It  is  true,  he  may  preach  sound  doctrine  in  reference  to 
the  education  of  youth.  He  may  state  the  vast  influence  it 
has  upon  the  whole  life  of  man.  He  may  freely  point  out 
the  imperfections  in  the  moral,  intellectual,  and  physical  in* 


88  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

struction  of  the  children  of  the  present  day.  He  may  nrge 
the  absolute  necessity  of  good  teachers,  of  the  multiplica- 
tion of  libraries,  and  every  other  means  for  the  diffusion  of 
useful  knowledge.  He  may  expatiate  upon  the  supersti- 
tious fears,  the  tormenting  fancies,  the  erroneous  notions, 
the  wrong  prepossessions,  and  the  laxity  of  morals  which 
most  children  are  allowed  to  imbibe  for  want  of  early  and 
correct  instruction,  and  which,  in  the  majority  of  cases, 
last  through  life.  He  may,  with  truth  and  freedom,  de- 
clare, that  the  mental  impress,  at  twenty,  gives  the  colour- 
ing to  the  remainder  of  life ;  and  that  most  young  men  of 
our  country,  of  that  age,  have  not  half  the  correct  informa- 
tion and  sound  principles  which  might,  with  proper  care, 
have  been  instilled  into  their  minds  before  they  were  ten 
years  old. 

"  But  here  the  politician  must  stop  his  censures  and  close 
his  advice.  At  twentyone,  the  ignorant,  uneducated,  and  way- 
ward youth  is  entitled  to  the  right  of  suffrage,  and  mingles 
with  a  community  composed  of  materials  like  himself.  He 
bursts  the  shell  which  had  enveloped  him ;  he  emerges 
from  the  chrysalis  state  of  darkness  and  ignorance,  and  at 
once  becomes  a  component  part  of  '  a  highly  intelligent,  en- 
lightened, and  civilized  community.' 

"  If  we  honestly  desire  to  know  society  as  it  is,  we  must 
subject  it  to  a  rigorous  analysis.  AVe  must  divest  ourselves 
of  all  partiality,  and  not  lay  the  '  flattering  unction'  of  van- 
ity to  our  souls.  The  clear  perception  of  our  deficiencies. 
of  the  feeble  advances  already  made  in  knowledge  and  civ- 
ilization,  is  the  best  stimulus  to  united,  energetic,  and  useful 
exertion.  Bitter  truth  is  much  more  wholesome  than  sweet 
delusion. 

"  The  gross  flattery  which  is  weekly  and  daily  poured  out 
in  legislative  speeches  and  by  a  time-serving  press,  has  a 
most  pernicious  influence  upon  the  public  mind  and  morals. 
The  greater  the  ignorance  of  the  mass,  the  more  readily  the 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  89 

flattery  is  swallowed.  He  who  is  the  most  circumscribed 
in  knowledge,  perceives  not  a  single  cloud  in  his  mental 
horizon.  Attila  and  his  Huns  doubtless  believed  them- 
selves to  be  the  most  civilized  people  on  earth ;  and  if  they 
had  possessed  our  editorial  corps,  they  would  have  proved 
it  to  be  so. 

"  Weak  and  vain  females,  in  the  days  of  their  youth,  have 
been  charged  by  the  other  sex  with  an  extraordinary  fond- 
ness for  flattery.  But,  judging  by  the  constant  specimens 
which  are  lavishly  administered  and  voraciously  swallowed, 
the  male  appetite  for  hyperboles  of  praise  is  altogether  su- 
perior. 

"  The  vainglorious  boastings  of  the  American  press  ex- 
cite the  risibility  of  all  intelligent  foreigners.  According  to 
the  learned  and  philosophic  De  Tocqueville,  this  is  the 
country,  of  all  others,  where  public  opinion  is  the  most  dic- 
tatorial and  despotic.  Like  a  spoiled  child,  it  has  been  in- 
dulged, flattered,  and  caressed  by  interested  sycophants  un 
til  its  capriciousness  and  tyranny  are  boundless. 

"  When  Americans  boast  of  their  cultivated  minds  and 
humane  feelings,  foreigners  point  them  to  the  existence  of 
negro  slavery.  When  they  claim  the  civic  merit  of  un- 
qualified submission  to  the  rules  of  social  order,  they  are  re- 
ferred to  the  frequent  exhibition  of  duels  and  of  Lynch  law. 
When  they  insist  upon  the  prevalence  among  us  of  strict 
integrity,  sound  morals,  and  extensive  piety,  they  are  shown 
an  American  newspaper,  which  probably  contains  the  an- 
nunciation of  half  a  dozen  thefts,  robberies,  embezzlements, 
horrid  murders,  and  appalling  suicides. 

"  Burns,  the  eminent  Scotch  poet,  seems  to  have  believed 

that  good  would  result 

i 

" '  If  Providence  the  gift  would  gie  us, 
To  see  ourselves  as  others  see  us.' 

If  we  had  this  gift,  much  of  our  overweening  vanity  would 
H  2 


90  THE    SCHOOL   AND 

doubtless  be  repressed,  and  many  would  seriously  ponder 
on  the  means  of  reformation  and  improvement. 

"  But  that  any  great  improvement  can  be  made  upon  the 
moral  propensities  of  the  adults  of  the  present  day  is  not  to 
be  expected.  The  raw  material  of  humanity,  after  being 
even  partially  neglected  for  twenty  years,  generally  bids 
defiance  to  every  manufacturing  process. 

"  The  moral  education — that  is,  the  proper  discipline  of  the 
dispositions  and  affections  of  the  mind,  by  which  a  reverence 
for  the  Supreme  Being,  a  love  of  justice,  of  benevolence,  and 
of  truth  are  expanded,  strengthened,  and  directed,  and  the 
conscience  enlightened  and  invigorated,  must  have  its  basis 
deeply  and  surely  laid  in  childhood.  Truth,  in  the  impor- 
tant parts  of  moral  science,  is  most  easily  taught,  and  makes 
the  most  indelible  impressions  in  early  life  ;  before  the  in- 
fusion of  the  poison  of  bad  example ;  before  false  notions 
and  pernicious  opinions  have  taken  root ;  before  the  under- 
standing is  blunted  and  distorted  by  habit,  or  the  mind  cloud- 
ed by  prejudice." 

The  length  to  which  this  quotation  has  extended  will 
hardly  be  regretted  by  our  readers  ;  and  it  prepares  us  to  en- 
ter at  once  on  the  last  topic  which  remains  to  be  discussed 
in  this  chapter,  viz.,  THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  EDUCATION. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  91 


SECTION  VI. 

THE  IMPORTANCE   OF   EDUCATION. 
I.    TO  THE  INDIVIDUAL. 

"  What  is  a  man 

If  his  chief  good  and  market  of  his  time 

Be  but  to  sleep  and  feed  1 — a  beast,  no  more. 

Sure,  He  that  made  us  with  such  large  discourse, 

Looking  before  and  after,  gave  us  not 

That  capability  and  godlike  reason 

To  rust  in  us  unused." — SHAKSPEARE. 

"  Men  generally  need  knowledge  to  overpower  their  passions  and 
master  their  prejudices  ;  and,  therefore,  to  see  your  brother  in  ig- 
norance is  to  see  him  unfurnished  to  all  good  works ;  and  every  mas- 
ter is  to  cause  his  family  to  be  instructed,  every  governor  is  to  in- 
struct his  charge,  every  man  his  brother,  by  all  possible  and  just  pro- 
visions. For  if  the  people  die  for  want  of  knowledge,  they  who  are 
set  over  them  shall  also  die  for  want  of  charity." — JEREMY  TAYLOR. 

IT  may  be  proper  to  remind  the  reader,  that  by  education, 
we  understand  a  system  of  training  and  instruction,  which 
aims  at  the  due  culture  of  all  the  powers  of  the  soul,  both 
intellectual  and  moral.  We  shall  be  the  better  prepared,  to 
appreciate  the  necessity  and  importance  of  such  culture,  if 
we  consider  that,  in  its  absence,  the  individual  will  be  edu- 
cated by  circumstances.  Even  when  he  is  most  neglected, 
there  will  still  be  companions,  parents,  or  masters,  daily  oc- 
currences, and  other  causes,  both  physical  and  moral,  which 
will  act  forcibly  upon  some  of  his  powers  to  develop  and  ex- 
cite them.  But  which  of  his  powers  will  these  be  ?  When 
parents  do  not  take  the  trouble  to  provide  for  the  proper  edu- 
cation of  their  children,  it  must  be  obvious  that  neither  their 
example,  nor  the  associations  with  which  they  will  surround 
those  children,  whether  in  high  or  low  life,  will  be  likely  to 
foster  their  better  and  purer  sentiments.  Add  to  the  force 


92  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

of  natural  propensity,  the  sensualizing  influences  which  in 
such  cases  will  inevitably  be  applied  from  without  to  the 
young  and  plastic  mind,  and  what  can  be  expected  ? 

Beyond  a  doubt,  whatever  this  little  being  has  in  com- 
mon with  animals  will  be  cherished  and  strengthened  ; 
whatever  he  has  in  common  with  angels  of  light  and  purity 
will  be  repressed  and  stifled.  The  gratification  of  his  lower 
appetites  will  be  predominant  among  the  objects  of  his  de- 
sire ;  and  as  these  appetites  are  essentially  selfish,  he  will 
become  less  and  less  regardful  of  the  claims  of  justice  and  of 
charity.  He  may  improve  in  cunning,  in  the  readiness  with 
which  he  invents  and  the  pertinacity  with  which  he  em- 
ploys expedients  to  compass  his  base  ends  ;  but  he  will  have 
less  and  less  of  true  wisdom.  When  sorely  pressed  by 
danger  or  difficulty,  he  will  show  that  he  is  not  unacquaint- 
ed with  moral  distinctions ;  but  then  the  dexterity  with 
which  he  tries  to  make  the  worse  appear  the  better  reason, 
and  the  facility  with  which  he  invents  specious  apologies 
for  the  worst  acts,  these  will  show,  too,  that  in  his  mind 
the  light  has  emphatically  become  darkness,  and  that  even 
his  highest  faculties  are  little  better  than  panders  to  his 
lowest  appetites. 

An  ignorant,  uncultivated  mind,  then,  is  the  native  soil  of 
sensuality  and  cruelty,  and  the  whole  history  of  the  world 
proves,  that  in  a  large  proportion  of  instances,  it  does  not 
fail  to  bring  forth  its  appropriate  fruit.  In  what  countries, 
are  the  people  most  given  to  the  lowest  forms  of  animal 
gratification,  and  also  most  regardless  of  the  lives  and  hap- 
piness of  others  ?  Is  it  not  in  pagan  lands,  over  which 
moral  and  intellectual  darkness  broods,  and  where  men  are 
vile  without  shame,  and  cruel  without  remorse  ?  If  from 
pagan  we  pass  to  Christian  countries,  we  shall  find  that 
those  in  which  education  is  least  prevalent  are  precisely 
those  in  which  there  is  the  most  immorality,  and  the  great- 
est indifference  to  the  sufferings  of  sentient  and  animated 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  93 

beings.  Spain,  in  which,  until  recently,  there  was  but  one 
newspaper,  and  in  which  not  more  than  one  in  twenty  of 
the  people  are  instructed  in  schools,  has  a  population  about 
equal  to  that  of  England  and  Wales.  What  is  the  relative 
state  of  morals  ?  In  England  and  Wales  the  whole  num- 
ber of  convictions  for  murder  in  one  year  (1826)  was  thir- 
teen, and  the  number  convicted  of  wounding,  &c.,  with  in- 
tent to  kill,  was  fourteen,  while  in  Spain  the  number  con- 
victed during  the  same  year  was,  for  murder,  twelve  hundred 
and  thirty-three  !  and  for  maiming  with  intent  to  kill,  seven- 
teen hundred  and  seventy-three  .* 

*  I  add  an  extract  from  a  late  traveller  (Inglis)  on  the  state  ot 
manners  and  morals.  "  If  vice  degrade  the  manners  of  the  upper 
and  middle  classes  in  Seville,  crime  of  a  darker  turpitude  disfigures 
the  character  and  conduct  of  the  lower  orders.  Scarcely  a  night 
passes  without  the  commission  of  a  murder.  But  these  crimes  are 
not  perpetrated  in  cold  blood  from  malevolent  passions,  still  less 
from  love  of  gain ;  they  generally  spring  from  the  slightest  possible 
causes.  The  Andalusian  is  not  so  abstemious  as  the  Castilian,  and 
the  wine  he  drinks  is  stronger ;  he  has  also  a  great  propensity  for 
gambling,  the  fruitful  engenderer  of  strife ;  and  the  climate  has, 
doubtless,  its  influence  upon  his  passions.  '  Will  you  taste  with 
me!'  an  Andalusian  will  say  to  some  associate  with  whom  he  has 
had  some  slight  difference,  offering  him  his  glass.  'No  gracias,' 
the  other  will  reply.  The  former,  already  touched  with  wine,  will 
half  drain  his  glass,  and  present  it  again,  saying,  '  Do  you  not  wish 
to  drink  with  me !'  and  if  the  other  still  refuses  the  proffered  civil- 
ity, it  is  the  work  of  a  moment  to  drain  the  glass  to  the  dregs,  to 
say,  '  How !  not  taste  with  me !'  and  to  thrust  the  knife  an  Andalu- 
sian always  carries  with  him  into  the  abdomen  of  the  comrade  who 
refuses  to  drink  with  him.  It  is  thus,  and  in  other  ways  equally 
simple,  that  quarrel  and  murder  disfigure  the  nightly  annals  of  ev- 
ery town  in  Andalusia,  and  of  tjie  other  provinces  of  the  south  of 
Spain.  There  is  an  hospital  in  Seville  dedicated  to  the  sole  purpose 
of  receiving  wounded  persons.  I  had  the  curiosity  to  visit  it,  and 
ascertained  that,  during  the  past  fourteen  days,  twenty-one  persons 
had  been  received  into  the  hospital  wounded  from  stabs ;  they  would 
not  inform  me  how  many  of  these  had  died." — Spain  in  1830,  vol. 
ii..  p.  56. 


94  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

We  cannot  be  surprised  that,  in  such  a  land,  scenes  of 
cruelty  and  blood  should  constitute  the  favourite  amusement 
of  the  people.  Their  greatest  delight  is  in  bullfights ; 
"  and  how,"  says  an  eyewitness,  "  do  the  Spaniards  con- 
duct themselves  during  these  scenes  ?  The  intense  inter- 
est which  they  feel  in  this  game  is  visible  throughout,  and 
often  loudly  expressed ;  an  astounding  shout  always  ac- 
companies a  critical  moment :  whether  it  be  the  bull  or 
man  who  is  in  danger,  their  joy  is  excessive ;  but  their 
greatest  sympathy  is  given  to  the  feats  of  the  bull.  If  the 
picador  receives  the  bull  gallantly,  and  forces  him  to  re- 
treat, or  if  the  matador  courageously  faces  and  wounds  the 
bull,  they  applaud  these  acts  of  science  and  valour ;  but  if 
the  bull  overthrow  the  horse  and  his  rider,  or  if  the  mata- 
dor miss  his  aim  and  the  bull  seems  ready  to  gore  him, 
their  delight  knows  no  bounds.  And  it  is  certainly  a  fine 
spectacle  to  see  the  thousands  of  spectators  rise  simulta- 
neously, as  they  always  do  when  the  interest  is  intense ; 
the  greatest  and  most  crowded  theatre  in  Europe  presents 
nothing  half  so  imposing  as  this.  But  how  barbarous,  how 
brutal  is  the  whole  exhibition!  Could  an  English  audi- 
ence witness  the  scenes  that  are  repeated  every  week  in 
Madrid  1  A  universal  burst  of  '  shame  !'  would  follow  the 
spectacle  of  a  horse  gored  and  bleeding,  and  actually  tread- 
ing upon  his  own  entrails  while  he  gallops  round  the  are- 
na: even  the  appearance  of  the  goaded  bull  could  not  be 
borne ;  panting,  covered  with  wounds  and  blood,  lacerated 
by  darts,  and  yet  brave  and  resolute  to  the  end. 

"  The  spectacle  continued  two  hours  and  a  half,  and 
during  that  time  there  were  seven  bulls  killed  and  six 
horses.  When  the  last  bull  was  despatched,  the  people 
immediately  rushed  into  the  arena,  and  the  carcass  was 
dragged  out  amid  the  most  deafening  shouts." — Spain  in 
1830,  vol.  i.,  p.  191. 

In  another  passage,  the  same  writer,  after  describing  a 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  95 

fight,  in  which  one  bull  had  killed  three  horses  and  one 
man,  and  remained  master  of  the  arena,  adds,  "  This  was  a 
time  to  observe  the  character  of  the  people.  When  the 
unfortunate  picador  was  killed,  in  place  of  a  general  excla- 
mation of  horror  and  loud  expressions  of  pity,  the  universal 
cry  was  '  Que  es  bravo  ese  toro  !'  ('  Ah !  the  admirable 
bull!').  The  whole  scene  produced  the  most  unbounded 
delight ;  and  I  did  not  perceive  a  single  female  avert  her 
head,  or  betray  the  slightest  symptom  of  wounded  feeling." 

How  different  is  the  spirit  and  character  developed  by  a 
proper  system  of  education.  Discipline  gives  its  subjects 
command  over  their  passions,  and  instead  of  a  love  for  vi- 
cious excitement,  cultivates  the  taste  for  simple  and  inno- 
cent pleasures.  Objects  higher  than  any  gratification  mere- 
ly animal  awaken  desire  ;  objects  in  the  pursuit  of  which 
the  faculties  find  a  healthful  and  agreeable  employment, 
and  the  individual,  though  intent  on  his  own  advantage,  still 
serves  the  community.  His  charities,  too,  are  enlarged  and 
strengthened.  From  a  mere  child  of  impulse,  he  is  trans- 
formed into  a  reflective  being,  looking  before  and  after  with 
large  discourse  of  reason.  He  forms  plans  for  a  distant 
future,  and  thus  rises  nearer  and  nearer  to  a  spiritual  exist- 
ence ;  while,  divested  of  no  sentiments  or  principles  which 
the  Creator  has  bestowed  upon  him,  all  are  still  made  to 
occupy  their  proper  places,  and  to  move  together  in  subor- 
dination to  the  great  ends  of  his  being. 

It  is  to  be  observed  here,  again,  that  we  mean  by  educa- 
tion a  large  and  generous  culture,  which  comprehends  the 
whole  man,  and  which  assigns,  therefore,  the  first  place  to 
the  immortal  nature.  We  would  never  forget,  that  there  may 
be  much  knowledge  and  much  discipline  of  the  intellectual 
powers,  which  leaves,  in  darkness  and  sin,  the  moral  and 
spiritual  man.  Such  education  we  repudiate.  Instead  of 
a  narrow  and  partial  training,  which  would  make  its  subject 
a  monster  rather  than  a  man ;  we  go  for  one  which  would 


96  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

build  up  that  subject  to  the  perfection  which  corresponds  to 
his  nature  and  position. 

And  let  us  add,  if  mere  knowledge  cannot  make  men 
wise,  much  less  can  ignorance.  Her  appropriate  office  is 
not  to  improve,  but  to  deteriorate  and  degrade.  It  has  been 
said  that  "  ignorance  is  the  mother  of  devotion."  It  would 
have  been  much  nearer  truth,  to  represent  her  as  the  parent 
of  a  dark  idolatry,  which  bows  the  spirit  to  an  abject  but 
unholy  service,  and  robs  it  of  its  noblest  instincts.  This 
has  been  well  put  in  an  old  allegory  of  the  days  of  Bunyan. 
Apollyon  invades  the  country  of  Nonage,  and,  in  order  to 
accomplish  more  fully  his  designs,  resolves  "  that  a  great 
part  of  the  weak  and  feeble  inhabitants  should  be  tutored 
by  Mrs.  Ignorance."  Accordingly,  accosting  that  person- 
age, he  says,  "  My  dear  cousin  and  friend,  I  have  a  great 
number  of  pretty  boys  and  girls  for  you  to  tutor  and  bring 
up  for  me  :  will  you  undertake  the  charge  ?"  "  Most  dread 
and  mighty  Apollyon,"  she  replies,  "  you  know  I  never 
yet  declined  any  drudgery  for  you  which  lay  in  my  power." 
Apollyon  then,  after  complimenting  her  upon  what  she  had 
already  done  for  the  advancement  of  his  kingdom  and  great- 
ening  of  his  power  in  the  world,  turns  to  his  associate  and 
says,  "Noble  Peccatum  (Sin),  this  gentlewoman,  Madam 
Ignorance,  is  your  child,  your  natural  offspring,  your  own 
flesh  and  blood ;  therefore  I  charge  you  to  help  and  assist 
her  in  this  great  work  ;  for  I  should  be  glad  if  she  had  the 
education  of  all  the  children  in  the  whole  world." 

The  influence  of  education,  on  happiness,  is  also  worthy 
of  deep  consideration.  Man  has  been  supplied  with  va- 
rious desires,  sensual,  intellectual,  and  moral ;  some  prompt- 
ing him  to  serve  others,  and  some  to  benefit  himself,  but  all 
intended  to  yield  him  happiness.  Education  enlarges  the 
capacity  for  enjoyment,  of  each  of  these  desires.  Even  his 
sensual  appetites  need  the  guidance  of  knowledge  to  keep 
them  from  excess,  while  they  are  refined  and  elevated  by 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  97 

the  culture  of  his  other  powers.  And  then  that  brood  of 
hopes  and  fears  which  must  always  cluster  round  man's 
heart  —  taking  him  out  of  the  present,  and  in  some  sort 
compelling  him  to  live  and  labour  for  an  unseen  future — 
how  these  are  all  rectified  and  enlightened  by  knowledge 
and  culture.  Imagination,  chastened  and  regulated,  no  lon- 
ger fills  the  view  with  lying  spectres  of  horror  or  delusive 
anticipations  of  bliss.  She  becomes  the  handmaid  of  the  un- 
derstanding and  the  heart.  The  mind  is  steadied ;  its  vision 
purged  and  enlarged.  It  sees  objects  as  they  are,  neither 
magnifying  our  blessings  nor  multiplying  our  sorrows.* 
Hopes  are  built  on  a  solid  and  rational  foundation,  and  fear, 
which  to  so  many  is  the  disease  of  the  soul,f  making  more 

*  "  Wisdom  makes  all  the  troubles,  griefs,  and  pains  incident  to 
life,  whether  casual  adversities  or  natural  afflictions,  easy  and  sup- 
portable, by  rightly  valuing  the  importance  and  moderating  the  in- 
fluence of  them.  It  suffers  not  busy  fancy  to  alter  the  nature,  am- 
plify the  degree,  or  extend  the  duration  of  them,  by  representing 
them  more  sad,  heavy,  and  remediless  than  they  truly  are.  It  allows 
them  no  force  beyond  what  naturally  and  necessarily  they  have,  nor 
contributes  nourishment  to  their  increase.  It  keeps  them  at  due 
distance,  not  permitting  them  to  encroach  upon  the  soul,  or  to  prop- 
agate their  influence  beyond  their  proper  sphere. — DR.  BARROW." 

t  "  Ignorance,"  says  a  writer,  "  can  shake  strong  sinews  with 
idle  thoughts,  and  sink  brave  hearts  with  light  sorrows,  and  doth 
lead  innocent  feet  to  impure  dens,  and  haunts  the  simple  rustic  with 
credulous  fears,  and  the  swart  Indian  with  that  more  potent  magic, 
under  which  spell  he  pines  and  dies.  And  by  ignorance  is  a  man 
fast  bound  from  childhood  to  the  grave,  till  knowledge,  which  is  the 
revelation  of  good  and  evil,  doth  set  him  free." 

Among  the  numberless  superstitions  which  have  been  dissipated 
by  science,  may  be  instanced  the  Spectre  of  the  Brocken,  which  had 
appeared  from  time  to  time,  near  the  Hartz  Mountains  in  Germany 
This  was  a  gigantic  figure,  seen  indistinctly  in  the  heavens,  in  form 
always  resembling  a  human  being,  and  the  appearance  of  which  waa 
regarded,  for  ages,  as  a  certain  indication  of  approaching  misfortune. 
At  length  a  celebrated  philosopher  (Abb£  Haiiy)  determined  to  in- 
vestigate this  apparition.  After  ascending  the  mountain  thirty 

I 


98  THE    SCHOOL   AND 

danger  than  it  avoids,  becomes,  to  a  well-trained  and  en- 
lightened mind,  the  instrument  of  caution  rather  than  anx- 
iety— "  a  guard,  not  a  torment,  to  the  breast."  It  is  suffi- 
ciently vigilant  in  anticipating  and  guarding  against  earthly 
evils,  but  the  loss  of  immortality  is  the  object  of  its  supreme 
dread.  "  It  is  fixed,"  to  use  the  language  of  South,  "  on 
Him  who  is  only  to  be  feared,  God ;  and  yet  with  a  filial 
fear,  which  at  the  same  time  both  fears  and  loves.  It  is 
awe  without  amazement — dread  without  distraction.  There 
is  a  beauty  in  its  very  paleness,  giving  a  lustre  to  rever- 
ence and  a  gloss  to  humility." 

In  estimating  the  happiness  to  be  derived  from  educa- 
tion, let  us  not  overlook  the  vast  addition  which  may  thus 
be  made  to  domestic  and  social  enjoyments.  Without  the 
facts  and  ideas  which  are  supplied  by  reading,  how  meager 
and  spiritless  would  conversation  prove  !  In  rearing  chil- 
dren, and  in  the  difficult  task  of  making  home  pleasant  and 
attractive,  books  form  an  unfailing  resource,  and  many  who 
now  waste  life  and  talent  in  a  round  of  harassing  dissipa- 
tions or  in  low  vice,  might  have  been  both  happy  and  use- 
ful, if  they  had  early  imbibed  a  taste  for  good  books. 

It  is  worthy  of  consideration,  too,  that  the  highest  and 
purest  pleasures  to  be  derived  from  gratifying  curiosity,  are 
confined  to  cultivated  minds,  which  are  intent  on  truth  ra- 
ther than  novelty,  and  which  look  beyond  mere  facts  and 
events,  to  their  causes  and  reasons.*  The  vague  interest 

times,  he  at  last  saw  it,  and  soon  discovered  that  it  was  nothing  but 
his  own  shadow  cast  upon  clouds.  "  When  the  rising  sun,"  says 
he,  "  throws  his  rays  over  the  Brocken  upon  the  body  of  a  man 
standing  opposite  to  fleecy  clouds,  let  him  fix  his  eye  steadfastly 
upon  them,  and  in  all  probability  he  will  see  his  own  shadow  ex- 
tending the  length  of  five  or  six  hundred  feet,  at  the  distance  of 
about  two  miles  from  him." 

*  "  How  charming  is  divine  philosophy ! 

Not  harsh  and  crabbed,  as  dull  fools  suppose, 

But  musical  as  is  Apollo's  lute, 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  99 

with  which  the  ignorant  look  on  the  beauties  and  sublimi- 
ties of  nature — how  much  inferior  is  this,  to  that  intelligent 
and  ever-new  delight,  with  which  the  well-informed  and  cu- 
rious mind  traces  these  same  objects  as  parts  of  a  great 
system  of  law  and  order,  resplendent  as  well  with  moral  as 
with  material  charms.  A  poet  has  asked, 

And  a  perpetual  feast  of  nectar'd  sweets. 
Where  no  crude  surfeit  reigns." 

MILTON'S  Comus. 

"  It  is  not  the  eye  that  sees  the  beauties  of  heaven,  nor  the  ear  that 
hears  the  sweetness  of  music,  or  the  glad  tidings  of  a  prosperous 
accident,  but  the  soul  that  perceives  all  relishes  of  sensual  and  in- 
tellectual perfections ;  and  the  more  noble  and  excellent  the  soul  is, 
the  greater  and  more  savoury  are  its  perceptions." — BISHOP  TAYLOR. 

"  The  pleasure  and  delight  of  knowledge  and  learning  far  surpass- 
eth  all  other  in  nature ;  for  shall  the  pleasures  of  the  affections  so 
exceed  the  pleasures  of  the  senses,  as  much  as  the  obtaining  of  de- 
sire or  victory  exceedeth  a  song  or  a  dinner  1  and  must  not,  of  con- 
sequence, the  pleasures  of  the  intellect  or  understanding  exceed  the 
pleasures  of  the  affections "?  We  see  in  all  other  pleasures  there  is 
a  satiety,  and  after  they  be  used  their  verdure  departeth ;  which 
showeth  well  they  be  but  deceits  of  pleasure,  and  not  pleasure,  and 
that  it  was  the  novelty  which  pleased,  and  not  the  quality ;  and 
therefore  we  see  that  voluptuous  men  turn  friars,  and  ambitious 
princes  turn  melancholy  ;  but  of  knowledge  there  is  no  satiety,  but 
satisfaction  and  appetite  are  ever  interchangeable,  and  therefore 
appeareth  to  be  good  in  itself  simply,  without  fallacy  or  accident. 
Neither  is  that  pleasure  of  small  efficacy  and  contentment  to  the 
mind  of  man,  which  the  poet  Lucretius  describeth  elegantly  : 

"  '  Suave  mari  magno,  turbantibus  aequora  ventis,'  &c. 

" '  It  is  a  view  of  delight,'  saith  he,  '  to  stand  or  walk  upon  the 
shore  side,  and  to  see  a  ship  tossed  with  tempest  upon  the  sea,  or  to 
be  in  a  fortified  tower,  and  to  see  two  battles  join  upon  a  plain. 
But  it  is  a  pleasure  incomparable  for  the  mind  of  man  to  be  settled, 
landed,  and  fortified  in  the  certainty  of  truth,  and  from  thence  to 
descry  and  behold  the  errors,  perturbations,  labours,  wanderings  up 
and  down  of  other  men' — so  always  that  this  prospect  be  with  pity, 
and  not  with  swelling  or  pride." — LORD  BACON. 


100  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

"  Do  not  all  charms  fly 
At  the  mere  touch  of  cold  philosophy  1 
There  was  an  awful  rainbow  once  in  heaven  :" 
We  know  her  woof  and  texture  ;  she  is  given 
In  the  dull  catalogue  of  common  things. 
Philosophy  will  clip  an  angel's  wings, 
Conquer  all  mysteries  by  rule  and  line, 
Empty  the  haunted  air  and  gnomed  mine, 
Unweave  a  rainbow :" 

Let  another  poet  (Akenside)  answer  : 

"  Nor  ever  yet 

The  melting  rainbow's  vernal  tinctured  hues 
To  me  have  shone  so  pleasing,  as  when  first 
The  hand  of  science  pointed  out  the  path 
In  which  the  sunbeams,  gleaming  from  the  west, 
Fall  on  the  watery  cloud  :" 
So  Wordsworth : 

"  A{y  heart  leaps  up  when  I  behold 

A  rainbow  in  the  sky  : 
So  was  it  when  my  life  began, 
So  is  it  now  I  am  a  man, 
So  be  it  when  I  shall  grow  old,"  &c. 

To  those  who  imagine  that  the  progress  of  knowledge 
may  be  unfavourable  to  enjoyment,  by  dispelling  illusions 
and  mysteries,  it  may  be  sufficient  to  remark,  that  science 
dispels  one  mystery  only  to  encounter  another  and  a  high- 
er one.  Whatever  pleasure,  therefore,  can  be  derived  from 
obscurity,  is  enjoyed  in  common  by  the  educated  and  un- 
educated ;  while  the  former  has  the  additional  satisfaction 
of  discovering  some  of  the  links  in  the  long  chain  of  causes, 
and  of  combining  an  admiration  which  reasons  and  under- 
stands, with  one  which  can  only  wonder  and  adore. 

I  cannot  close  this  branch  of  the  subject  without  advert- 
ing to  the  influence  which  education  has  on  our  usefulness 
and  success  in  life.  The  practice  of  holding  up,  before  the 
young,  the  prospect  of  a  vulgar,  worldly  success  as  the 
great  motive  to  study,  I  have  already  condemned ;  and  I 
want  words  to  express  my  deep  conviction  of  its  danger 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  101 

and  folly.  But  it  would  be  a  grievous  omission,  to  over* 
look,  on  the  other  hand,  the  intimate  connexion  which 
does  subsist,  between  knowledge  and  culture,  as  cause,  and 
the  capacity  to  act  wisely  and  successfully,  as  effect.  We 
all  know,  how  perfectly  fettered  and  helpless  a  man  is,  in 
the  present  state  of  the  world,  who  cannot  read  and  write  ; 
and  yet  these  mechanical  accomplishments  are  but  tho 
means  to  education,  rather  than  education  itselfv  Educa-* 
tion,  properly  understood,  aims  not  merely  to  qualify  a  man 
to  read  and  write  letters,  to  look  over  newspapers,  and  to 
keep  accounts  ;  it  aims  to  make  him  a  thoughtful  and  re* 
fleeting  being ;  to  habituate  him*  to  the  systematic  applica* 

*  The  effects  of  a  deficiency  of  education  on  success  in  mechan- 
ical pursuits  is  strikingly  illustrated  in  the  evidence  recently  given 
by  an  intelligent  engineer,  accustomed  to  employ  many  hundred 
workmen  of  different  nations  (Mr.  A.  G.  Escher,  of  Zurich),  before 
the  British  Poor-Law  Commissioners.  He  says,  these  "  effects  are 
most  strongly  marked  in  the  Italians,  who>  though  with  the  advan- 
tage of  greater  natural  capacity  than  the  English,  Swiss,  Dutch,  or 
Germans,  are  still  of  the  lowest  class  of  workmen.  Though  they 
comprehend  clearly  and  quickly,  as  I  have  stated,  any  simple  prop* 
osition  made  or  explanation  given  to  them,  and  are  enabled  quickly 
to  execute  any  kind  of  work  when  they  have  seen  it  performed 
once,  yet  their  minds,  as  I  imagine,  from  want  of  development  by  train- 
ing or  school  education,  seem  to  have  no  kind  of  logic,  no  power  of  sys>- 
tematic  arrangement,  no  capacity  for  collecting  any  series  of  observa- 
tions, and  making  sound  inductions  from  the  whole  of  them.  This 
want  of  capacity  of  mental  arrangement  is  shown  in  their  manual 
operations.  An  Italian  will  execute  a  simple  operation  with  great 
dexterity ;  but  when  a  number  of  them  are  put  together,  all  is  con- 
fusion. For  instance :  within  a  short  time  after  the  introduction  of 
cotton-spinning  into  Naples  in  1830,  a  native  spinner  would  produce 
as  much  as  the  best  English  workman ;  and  yet,  up  to  this  time,  not 
one  of  the  Neapolitan  operatives  is  advanced  far  enough  to  take  the 
superintendence  of  a  single  room,  the  superintendents  being  all 
North^Tis,  who,  though  less  gifted  by  nature,  have  had  a  higher  de- 
gree of  order  or  arrangement  imparted  to  their  minds  by  a  superior 
education." — See  last  Report  of  Poor- Law  Commissioners. 

fa 


102  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

lion  of  his  powers  to  the  production  of  useful  results  ;  to 
render  his  mind  active  and  enterprising,  by  storing  it  with 
ideas ;  and  to  give  him  power  over  the  world  of  mind  and 
matter,  by  teaching  him  the  laws  to  which  they  are  subject- 
ed. In  bestowing  on  all  men  mind,  and  then  allotting  to 
most  of  them  a  life  of  labour  and  care,  God  has  plainly 
taught  us,  that  even  the  handicraftsman  is  to  work  with  his 
intellect  and  his  heart,  rather  than  with  his  muscles.  Ev- 
ery occupation,  even  the  humblest  and  simplest,  requires 
skill,  and  skill  requires  some  training  and  instruction.  Ev- 
ery occupation  may  be  made  more  easy,  as  well  as  more 
productive,  if  the  labourer  understands  his  own  powers,  and 
the  properties  of  the  objects  with  which  he  deals  ;  and  it 
will  be  certain  to  be  more  pleasant,  too,  if  his  mind  is 
cheered  while  he  is  at  work  with  pleasant  and  profitable 
thoughts^and  with  the  consciousness  that  he  lives  as  be- 
comes an  intelligent  being.  And  while  education  thus 
tends  to  make  the  labourer  a  more  happy  as  well  as  a  more 
efficient  producer ;  to  add  to  his  own  enjoyments  while  he 
is  himself  adding  to  the  sum  of  purchaseable  enjoyments 
in  the  world ;  it  tends,  also,  to  make  him  more  provident. 
The  ignorant  are  usually  wasteful  ;*  and  when  not  so,  they 

*  Those  who  have  conversed  familiarly  with  the  very  poor,  and 
especially  with  the  inmates  of  poorhouses  and  workhouses,  must 
have  discovered  the  entire  absence  among  them  of  that  prudential 
wisdom  which  is  the  result  of  education.  "  Out  of  sixteen  paupers," 
says  a  late  writer,  "  examined  at  the  Workhouse  of  the  Union  in  Fa- 
versham  (Eng.),  only  two  had  ever  saved  up  so  much  as  ten  pounds, 
notwithstanding  that  several  of  them  had  been  in  the  receipt,  for  some 
time,  of  from  twenty  to  forty  shillings  a  week !  and  not  one  had  ever 
kept  any  account  of  receipt  and  expenditure  !  The  being  merely  able 
to  read  makes  little  difference  in  this  respect,  for,  in  the  number  ex- 
amined, there  were  several  who  could  do  so.  Indeed,  the  most  pru- 
dent of  the  two  who  had  saved  had  received  no  education.  He  had 
been  a  workman  in  the  powder-mills  at  Faversham,  and  out  of  his 
wages  of  thirty  shillings  a  week,  had  amassed  a  sum  of  200/.,  which 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  103 

rarely  form  those  plans  of  a  snug  and  far-reaching  econo- 
my, which  combine  present  comfort  and  liberality,  with  a 
steady  increase  of  wealth. 

The  Chinese  have  a  saying,  that  "  by  learning,  the  sons 
of  the  common  people  become  great ;~  without  learning,  the 
sons  of  the  great  become  mingled  with  the  mass  of  the  peo- 
ple." This  remark  is  particularly  applicable  among  that 
people,  because,  with  them,  all  offices  are  bestowed  accord- 
ing to  talent  and  literary  acquirement ;  and  there  seems  to 
be  a  settled  design,  to  maintain  an  aristocracy  of  learning, 
instead  of  one  founded  on  wealth.  But  in  every  civilized 
country,  and  especially  where  there  is  any  great  degree  of 
liberty,  knowledge  and  mental  cultivation  form  the  most  cer- 
tain means  of  success.*  Capital  invested  in  the  heart  and 

he  afterward  lost  by  the  failure  of  a  bank.  He  bitterly  regretted  his 
want  of  education,  which,  he  said,  had  prevented  his  embracing 
many  opportunities  that  offered  of  bettering  his  condition,  and  com- 
pelled him  to  finish  a  life  of  industry  in  the  workhouse,  instead  of 
occupying  a  respectable  situation  in  society.  Several  others  com- 
plained that  they  had  never  been  taught  to  look  forward  to  the  con- 
sequences of  their  own  acts.  One  man,  a  shoemaker,  about  twen- 
ty-eight years  of  age,  who  was  in  the  house  with  his  wife  and  five 
children,  attributed  his  poverty  and  pitiable  condition  entirely  to 
this  cause.  When  asked  if  he  did  not  calculate,  before  marrying  so 
early,  his  means  to  support  a  wife  and  family,  his  answer  was, '  No, 
sir — never  gave  it  a  thought — never  thought  of  anything.  You  see, 
sir,  we  ain't  used  to  look  forward.' " — See  A  Paper,  by  F.  Liardet, 
Esq.,  on  the  State  of  the  Peasantry  in  the  County  of  Kent  (Eng.),  in 
the  third  volume  of  the  Publications  of  the  Central  Society  of  Education. 
*  On  this  point  I  quote  again  from  Mr.  Escher.  Having  been 
asked  whether  education  would  not  tend  to  render  workmen  discon- 
tented and  disorderly,  and  thus  impair  their  value  as  operatives,  he 
answers :  "  My  own  experience,  and  my  conversation  with  eminent 
mechanics  in  different  parts  of  Europe,  lead  me  to  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent conclusion.  In  the  present  state  of  manufactures,  where  so 
much  is  done  by  machinery  and  tools,  and  so  little  done  by  mere 
brute  labour  (and  that  little  diminishing),  mental  superiority,  sys- 
tem, order,  punctuality,  and  good  conduct,  qualities  all  developed 


104  THE    SCHOOL    A'St) 

head  is  better  than  a  mere  money  capital,  not  simply  because 
it  is  inalienable,  but  because  it  enables  its  possessor  to  avail 

and  promoted  by  education,  are  becoming  of  the  highest  conse- 
quence. There  are  now,  I  consider,  few  enlightened  manufacturers 
who  will  dissent  from  the  opinion,  that  the  workshops  peopled  with 
the  greatest  number  of  educated  and  well-informed  workmen,  will 
turn  out  the  greatest  quantity  of  the  best  work  in  the  best  manner." 

In  another  place  he  states  that,  "  as  workmen  only,  the  prefer- 
ence is  undoubtedly  due  to  the  English  ;  because,  as  we  find  them, 
they  are  all  trained  to  special  branches,  on  which  they  have  had 
comparatively  superior  training,  and  have  concentred  all  their 
thoughts.  As  men  of  business  or  of  general  usefulness,  and  as  men 
with  whom  an  employer  would  best  like  to  be  surrounded,  I  should, 
however,  decidedly  prefer  the  Saxons  and  the  Swiss,  but  more  es- 
pecially the  Saxons,  because  they  have  had  a  very  careful  general 
education,  which  has  extended  their  capacities  beyond  any  special 
employment,  and  rendered  them  fit  to  take  up,  after  a  short  prepar- 
ation,  any  employment  to  which  they  may  be  called.  If  I  have  an 
English  workman  engaged  in  the  erection  of  a  steam-engine,  he  will 
understand  that,  and  nothing  else." 

In  regard  to  the  moral  effect  of  education,  his  testimony  is  ex- 
plicit and  worthy  of  deep  consideration  :  "  The  better  educated  wrork- 
men,  we  find,  are  distinguished  by  superior  moral  habits  in  every 
respect.  They  are  discreet  in  their  enjoyments,  which  are  more  of 
a  rational  and  refined  kind ;  they  have  a  taste  for  much  better  society, 
which  they  approach  respectfully,  and,  consequently,  find  much  read- 
ier admittance  to  it ;  they  cultivate  music,  they  read,  they  enjoy  the 
pleasures  of  scenery,  and,  consequently,  make  parties  for  excursions 
in  the  country ;  they  are,  consequently,  honest  and  trustworthy." 
"  The  Scotch  workmen  get  on  much  better  on  the  Continent  than 
the  English,  which  I  ascribe  chiefly  to  their  better  education,  which 
renders  it  easier  for  them  to  adapt  themselves  to  circumstances, 
and  especially  in  getting  on  better  with  their  fellow-workmen,  and 
with  all  the  people  with  whom  they  come  in  contact."  "  The  Eng- 
lish workmen  are  in  conduct  the  most  disorderly,  debauched,  and 
unruly,  and  least  respectful  and  trustworthy  of  any  nation  whatso- 
ever which  we  have  employed  (and  in  saying  this,  I  express  the  ex- 
perience of  eveiy  manufacturer  on  the  Continent  to  whom  I  have 
spoken,  and  especially  of  the  English  manufacturers,  who  make  the 
loudest  complaints).  These  characters  of  depravity  do  not  apply  to 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  105 

himself  of  the  advantages  of  any  position  in  which  he  may 
happen  to  be  placed.  The  activity  of  his  mind,  the  enterprise 
and  forecast  with  which  he  forms  plans,  the  readiness  with 
which  he  avails  himself  of  every  opportunity — all  will  be 
proportioned, to  the  degree  in  which  his  mind  has  been  de- 
veloped by  culture. 

I  have  before  me  the  history  of  two  families — children  of 
brothers,  who  occupied  adjoining  farms,  and  started  in  life 
with  the  same  advantages.  The  one  was  blessed  with  an 
intelligent,  high-principled  wife,  who  was  fond  of  books,  and 
was  always  giving  impulse  and  enlargement  to  the  minds  of 
her  children.  The  wife  of  the  other,  though  a  worthy  per- 
son, was  ignorant  and  without  cultivation.  The  result  has 
been,  that  the  sons  df  the  latter  are  ordinary  men,  with  tor- 
pid minds,  and  coarse  tastes,  though  free  from  vice.  The 
children  of  the  other  are  full  of  a  generous  and  useful  activ- 
ity, and  are  all  rising  to  stations  of  great  respectability  and 
influence.  Some  part  of  this  difference  may  doubtless  be 
ascribed,  to  differences  in  the  organization  and  natural  en- 
dowments of  these  children.  But  it  is  believed  that,  had  the 
same  difference  obtained  in  the  education  of  children  of  the 

the  English  workmen  who  have  received  an  education,  but  attach 
to  the  others  in  degree  in  which  they  are  in  want  of  it.  When  the 
uneducated  English  workmen  are  released  from  the  bonds  of  iron 
discipline  in  which  they  have  been  restrained  by  their  employers  in 
England,  and  are  treated  with  the  urbanity  and  friendly  feeling 
which  the  more  educated  workmen  on  the  Continent  expect  and  re- 
ceive from  their  employers,  they  (the  English  workmen)  completely 
lose  their  balance ;  they  do  not  understand  their  position,  and,  after 
a  certain  time,  become  totally  unmanageable  and  useless.  The  edu- 
cated English  workmen  in  a  short  lime  comprehend  their  position,  and 
adopt  an  appropriate  behaviour."  The  reader  will  find  much  similar 
testimony  on  these  points,  from  various  sources,  in  the  same  re- 
port. He  is  referred  especially  to  the  examination  of  William  Fair- 
bam,  Esq.,  a  manufacturer  of  Manchester. — See  Repoi-t  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  State  for  the  Home  Department,  on  the  Training  of  Pauper 
Children,  London,  1841. 


106  THE    SCHOOL,    AND 

same  parents,  the  result  would  have  presented  a  contrast 
hardly  less  striking. 

Apprehension  is  often  expressed,  and  no  doubt  felt,  lest 
education  should  inspire  a  restless  and  discontented  spirit — 
lest  it  should  make  men  unhappy,  under  the  toils  and  obscu- 
rity which  always  await  the  majority  in  every  land.  If,  in 
educating  people,  we  teach  them,  directly  or  indirectly,  that 
the  only  use  of  knowledge  is  to  enable  them  "  to  get  along,"  or 
"  to  get  up  in  the  world,"  as  it  is  termed ;  if,  in  other  words,  ev- 
ery appeal  is  addressed  to  a  sordid  ambition,  then,  doubtless, 
such  result  will  not  be  unlikely  to  follow.  But  let  it  be  ob- 
served here,  that  there  neither  is  nor  can  be,  in  this  country, 
any  such  prevailing  ignorance  and  mental  torpor  as  will  keep 
the  masses  perfectly  at  rest,  after  the  manner  of  older  coun- 
tries, or  as  will  prevent  them  from  struggling  to  better  their 
condition.  Such  multifarious  and  multitudinous  incitements 
to  activity  surround  them  on  every  hand — so  many  examples 
of  individuals  rising  rapidly  from  the  humblest  circumstances 
to  wealth  or  influence,  that  they  who  are  looking  on,  must 
be  agitated  with  some  desire  to  share  in  the  same  success. 
But  whose  minds  are  most  likely  to  be  unsettled  by  these  de- 
sires ?  Are  they  those  of  the  educated,  or  those  of  the  igno- 
rant and  unreflecting  ?  Who  are  most  likely  to  forget,  that 
happiness  is  to  be  found,  not  in  any  measure  of  outward  suc- 
cess or  distinction,  but  in  ruling  our  own  spirits,  and  in  culti- 
vating a  proper  sense  of  our  duties  and  privileges  1  Who  is 
most  likely  to  find,  in  his  regular  pursuits,  however  humble, 
as  well  as  in  his  hours  of  leisure,  that  full  and  pleasant  oc- 
cupation for  his  thoughts  and  faculties,  which  will  render  a 
feverish  excitement  from  without,  unnecessary  and  undesir- 
able ?  It  seems  to  me,  that  these  questions  carry  with  them 
their  own  answer.  It  can  hardly  be  doubted  that,  the  more 
fully  the  mind  is  stored  with  knowledge,  and  with  resources 
of  an  intellectual  and  moral  nature,  the  less  is  it  likely  to  be- 
come restless  or  discontented  ;  that,  while  education  imparts 
higher  and  more  refined  tastes,  it  imnarts,  at  the  same  time, 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  107 

the  means  of  satisfying  those  tastes,  without  struggling  per- 
petually against  the  allotments  of  life,  and  the  claims  of  OUT 
station. 

But  two  causes  can  interfere  with  this,  the  natural  order 
of  things.  The  one  may  be  found  in  the  practice,  so  mon- 
strously absurd — would  we  could  add,  so  rare — of  teaching 
that  education  is  useful  only  so  far  as  it  enables  its  possess- 
or to  rise  in  the  world — as  if  position  were  everything,  and 
the  soul  nothing.  The  other  is,  that  we  restrict  the  bless- 
ings of  knowledge,  and  of  a  taste  for  reading,  to  a  small  por- 
tion of  those  who  spend  their  lives  in  labour ;  and  by  that 
means  leave  them  without  sympathy  among  their  compan- 
ions, while  we  at  the  same  time  invest  them  with  a  distinc- 
tion which  will  not  be  unlikely  to  inflame  their  vanity,  and 
which  may  thus  render  them  objects  of  envy  and  dislike. 
\Ve  occasionally  meet  those,  whom  education  does  seem  to 
have  made  unhappy  ;  because  it  has  brought  with  it,  to  their 
minds,  the  mistaken  notion  that  knowledge  and  talent  are  out 
of  place  in  an  humble  sphere  or  in  a  life  of  labour  ;  but  we 
must  remember,  that  they  owe  such  unhappiness,  not  to  edu- 
cation, but  to  an  entire  misconception  of  the  end  and  use  of  • 
education.*  Those  who  suffer  through  education,  or  higher 

*  "  Already,"  says  Howitt,  in  his  Rural  Life  of  England,  "  I  know 
some  who,  through  books,  have  reaped  those  blessings  of  an  awaken- 
ed heart  and  intellect,  too  long  denied  to  the  hard  path  of  poverty, 
and  which  render  them  not  the  less  sedate,  industrious,  and  provi- 
dent, but,  on  the  contrary,  more  so.  They  have  made  them,  in  the 
humblest  stations,  the  happiest  of  men ;  quickened  their  sensibili- 
ties towards  their  wives  and  children ;  converted  the  fields,  the  pla- 
ces of  their  daily  toil,  into  places  of  earnest  meditative  delight — 
schools  of  perpetual  observation  of  God's  creative  energy  and  wis- 
dom. 

"  It  was  but  the  other  day  that  the  farming  man  of  a  neighbouring 
lady  having  been  pointed  out  to  me  as  at  once  remarkably  fond  of 
reading  and  attached  to  his  profession,  I  entered  into  conversation 
with  him,  and  it  is  long  since  I  experienced  such  a  cordial  pleasure 
as  in  the  contemplation  of  the  character  that  opened  upon  me.  He 


108  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

intellectual  tastes,  merely  because  they  are  deprived  thereby 
of  the  sympathy  of  their  associates,  are  more  rare  ;  and  they 

was  a  strong  man,  not  to  be  distinguished  by  his  dress  and  appear- 
ance from  those  of  his  class,  but  having  a  very  intelligent  counte- 
nance ;  and  the  vigorous,  healthful  feelings  and  right  views  that 
seemed  to  fill  not  only  his  mind,  but  his  whole  frame,  spoke  volumes 
for  that  vast  enjoyment  and  elevation  of  character  which  a  rightly- 
directed  taste  for  reading  would  diffuse  among  our  peasantry.  His 
sound  appreciation  of  those  authors  he  had  read — some  of  cur  best 
poets,  historians,  essayists,  and  travellers — was  truly  cheering, 
when  contrasted  with  the  miserable  and  frippery  taste  which  dis- 
tinguishes a  large  class  of  readers." 

"  I  found  this  countryman  was  a  member  of  our  Artisans'  Library, 
and  every  Saturday  evening  he  walked  over  to  the  town  to  exchange 
his  books.  I  asked  him  whether  reading  did  not  make  him  less  sat- 
isfied with  his  daily  work ;  his  answer  deserves  universal  attention. 
4  Before  he  read,  his  work  was  weary  to  him ;  for  in  the  solitary 
fields,  an  empty  head  measured  the  time  out  tediously  to  double  its 
length ;  but  now,  no  place  was  so  sweet  as  the  solitary  fields ;  he 
had  always  something  pleasant  floating  across  his  mind,  and  the  la- 
bour was  delightful,  and  the  day  only  too  short.'  Seeing  his  ardent 
attachment  to  the  country,  I  sent  him  the  last  edition  of  the  '  Book 
%of  the  Seasons  ;'  and  I  must  here  give  a  verbatim  ct  literatim  extract 
from  the  note  in  which  he  acknowledged  its  receipt,  because  it  not 
only  contains  an  experimental  proof  of  the  falsity  of  a  common  alarm 
on  the  subject  of  popular  education,  but  shows  at  what  a  little  cost 
much  happiness  may  be  conveyed  to  a  poor  man.  '  Believe  me, 
dear  sir,  this  kind  act  has  made  an  impression  on  my  heart  which 
time  will  not  easily  erase.  There  are  none  of  your  works,  in  my 
opinion,  more  valuable  than  this.  The  study  of  nature  is  not  only 
the  most  delightful,  but  the  most  elevating.  This  will  be  true  in 
every  station  of  life.  But  how  much  more  ought  the  poor  man  to 
prize  this  study  !  which,  if  prized  and  pursued  as  it  ought,  will  ena- 
ble him  to  bear,  with  patient  resignation  and  cheerfulness,  the  lot 
by  Providence  assigned  him.  Oh,  sir,  I  pity  the  working  man  who 
possesses  not  a  taste  for  reading.  'Tis  true,  it  may  sometimes  lead 
him  to  neglect  the  other  more  important  duties  of  his  station ;  but 
his  better  and  more  enlightened  judgment  will  soon  correct  itself  in 
this  particular,  and  will  enable  him,  while  he  steadily  and  diligently 
pursues  his  private  studies,  and  participates  in  intellectual  enjoy- 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  109 

all  admit  that,  while  this  inconvenience  may  be  charged  in 
part  to  their  own  indiscretion,  in  not  sufficiently  cultivating 
those  associates,  it  is  overbalanced,  on  the  other  hand,  a  thou- 
sand times,  by  the  inexhaustible  fund  of  pleasure,  which  they 
find  in  books,  and  in  the  exercise  of  their  reflective  faculties. 
The  remedy  for  these  evils  is  obvious.  In  the  first  place, 
let  all  be  so  far  educated,  as  to  awaken  a  taste  for  reading 
and  a  desire  for  improvement,  and  knowledge  will  then  cease 
to  be  a  distinction,  and  can  no  longer  make  its  possessor  an 
object  of  envy.  In  the  second  place,  let  all  be  taught  that 
education  is  given,  not  that  we  may  buy  a  short-lived  and 
doubtful  success,  but  that  we  may -have  enlightened  minds 
and  improved  hearts,  and  be  better  able  to  fill  with  dignity 
and  pleasure  the  claims  of  any  station,  however  lowly,  and 
then  contentment  will  prevail  just  in  proportion  as  instruc- 
tion becomes  more  general  and  more  thorough.  How  much 
wisdom  is  there  in  the  following  lines  of  Wordsworth — the 
most  philanthropic  as  well  as  the  most  philosophical  poet  of 
our  age — whose  heart  and  fancy  have  always  been  among 
the  poor,  and  who,  at  the  same  time,  has  looked  with  more 
than  doubt,  on  many  modern  schemes  for  social  improve- 
ment. He  is  speaking  of  the  early  years  of  his  Wanderer : 

"  Early  had  he  learned 
To  reverence  the  volume  that  displays 
The  mystery,  the  life  which  cannot  die  : 
What  wonder  if  his  being  thus  became 
Sublime  and  comprehensive  !    Low  desires, 
Low  thoughts,  there  had  no  place ;  yet  was  his  heart 
Lowly  ;  for  he  was  meek  in  gratitude, 
Oft  as  he  called  those  ecstasies  to  mind, 
And  whence  they  flowed ;  and  from  them  he  acquired 
Wisdom,  which  works  through  patience :  hence  he  learned, 
In  oft-recurring  hours  of  sober  thought, 
To  look  on  nature  with  an  humble  heart, 

ment,  to  prize  as  he  ought  his  character  as  a  man,  in  every  relative 
duty  of  life.'" 

K 


110  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

Self-questioned  where  it  did  not  understand, 
And  with  a  superstitious  eye  of  love. 

So  passed  the  time  ;  yet  to  the  nearest  town 
He  duly  went,  with  what  small  overplus 
His  earnings  might  supply,  and  brought  away 
The  book  that  most  had  tempted  his  desires, 
While  at  the  stall  he  read.     Among  the  hills, 
He  gazed  upon  that  mighty  orb  of  song, 
The  divine  Milton.     Lore  of  different  kind, 
The  annual  savings  of  a  toilsome  life, 
His  schoolmaster  supplied  ;  books  that  explain 
The  purer  elements  of  truth,  involved 
In  lines  and  numbers,  and,  by  charm  severe 
(Especially  perceived  where  nature  droops 
And  feeling  is  suppressed),  preserve  the  mind 
Busy  in  solitude  and  poverty. 

In  dreams,  in  study,  and  in  ardent  thought, 
Thus  was  he  reared ;  much  wanting  to  assist 
The  growth  of  intellect,  yet  gaining  more, 
And  every  moral  feeling  of  his  soul 
Strengthened  and  braced,  by  breathing  in  content 
The  keen,  the  wholesome  air  of  poverty, 
And  drinking  from  the  well  of  homely  life." 

The  Excursion,  b.  L 


THE  SCHOOLMASTER.  Ill 

SECTION  VII. 

.THE    IMPORTANCE    OF    EDUCATION    (CONTINUED). 
II.    TO    SOCIETY. 

"  Whether  a  wise  state  hath  any  interest  nearer  heart  than  the 
education  of  youth." — BERKELEY'S  Querist. 

"  When  the  clouds  of  ignorance  are  dispelled  by  the  radiance  of 
knowledge,  power  trembles,  but  the  authority  of  law  remains  im- 
movable."— BECCARIA. 

"  Almost  all  the  calamities  of  man,  except  the  physical  evils  which 
are  inherent  in  his  nature,  are  in  a  great  measure  to  be  imputed  to 
erroneous  views  of  religion  or  bad  systems  of  government,  and 
these  cannot  be  coexistent  for  any  considerable  time  with  an  ex- 
tensive diffusion  of  knowledge.  Either  the  freedom  of  intelligence 
will  destroy  the  government,  or  the  government  will  destroy  it. 
Either  it  will  extirpate  superstition  and  enthusiasm,  or  they  will 
contaminate  its  purity  and  prostrate  its  usefulness.  Knowledge  is 
the  cause  as  well  as  the  effect  of  gpod  government." — DE  WITT 
CLINTON. 

SOCIETY  may  be  regarded!  as  a  partnership.  It  is  an  ex 
tended  system  of  co-operation,  in  which  every  individual  has 
a  part  to  perform,  and  from  which,  in  return  for  his  efforts, 
each  individual  receives  a  greater  amount  of  benefit  than  he 
could  have  attained,  had  he  relied  only  on  his  own  unaided 
and  solitary  exertions.  It  is  the  object  of  civilization  or 
social  progress,  to  increase  these  advantages,  or,  in  other 
words,  to  enable  individuals  to  obtain  from  society,  with  a 
given  amount  of  effort,  a  greater  and  greater  amount  of  re- 
sulting benefit.  Now,  in  regard  to  limited  partnerships, 
which  include  but  a  small  number  of  persons,  nothing  is 
more  evident  than  that  their  success,  and  the  success,  of 
course,  of  each  individual  member,  will  be  in  exact  propor- 
tion to  the  sagacity,  integrity,  and  diligence  with  which 
each  applies  himself  to  his  proper  duties.  If  all  the  part- 
ners are  ignorant,  idle,  and  unprincipled,  bankruptcy  and 


112  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

ruin  must  be  the  speedy  result.  If  this  be  the  character  of 
some  only  of  the  firm,  even  then,  hardly  any  amount  of  ef- 
fort and  skill  on  the  part  of  the  remainder  will  prevent  great 
losses ;  whereas,  should  all  devote  themselves  to  business 
with  singleness  of  purpose,  and  with  intelligence  and  activ- 
ity, the  result  must  be  great  prosperity.  The  application 
of  these  principles  to  the  subject  under  consideration  is  ob- 
vious. 

Let  us  consider  society,  in  the  first  place,  as  a  material 
partnership,  or,  in  other  words,  as  an  association  established 
merely  for  the  production  and  accumulation  of  wealth.  It  is 
a  truth  often  overlooked,  but  yet  most  unquestionable  as  well 
as  most  important,  that  the  richest  capitalist  and  the  poorest 
labourer  are  joint  proprietors  in  that  great  co-operative  firm, 
through  which,  God  ordains  that  man  shall  procure  most  of 
his  blessings.  A  poor  emigrant,  who  has  just  reached  our 
shores,  with  no  other  means  than  his  health  and  strong 
sinews,  and  who  has  skill  but  just  sufficient  to  enable  him 
to  handle  a  pickaxe  and  shovel,  is  set  at  work  in  excavating 
a  canal  or  grading  a  railroad.  He  knows  nothing  of  the 
wealthy  proprietor  in  New- York,  who  lives  in  luxury,  and 
who  wields  his  tens  and  hundreds  of  thousands  in  daily  op- 
erations on  'change,  and  that  proprietor  knows  still  less  of 
him.  Yet  it  is  no  less  true  that  they  are  partners — joint 
owners  and  managers  of  stock,  in  the  same  great  company. 
Every  dollar  that  the  capitalist  acquires  by  fair  and  legiti- 
mate business,  goes  to  swell  the  facilities  of  the  labourer,  in 
getting  employment,  and  in  getting  liberal  remuneration  for 
his  services.  It  is  by  him,  and  others  like  him,  that  capi- 
tal is  furnished,  not  only  to  construct  public  improvements, 
but  to  carry  forward  private  undertakings  of  a  useful  and 
productive  character.  On  the  other  hand,  every  blow 
which  the  labourer  strikes,  tends  to  enrich  the  capitalist. 
As  he  deepens  and  widens  the  canal,  or  grades  the  railroad, 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  113 

he  contributes  to  bheapen  and  to-  accelerate  the  transit  of 
those  commodities,  in  which  the  capitalist  deals,  thus  en- 
abling him  to  extend  his  operations,  and  to  increase  his 
profits.  And  these  are  but  examples.  Take  any  two  men, 
however  remote  from  each  other,  within  the  limits  of  the 
state  or  of  the  Union,  and  no  matter  how  dissimilar  their 
pursuits,  nor  how  unequal  their  apparent  positions,  they  are 
still,  if  engaged  in  lawful  callings,  partners, — co-operating  for 
their  mutual  benefit,  and  for  the  common  benefit  of  all  their 
associates,  or,  in  other  words,  of  all  their  fellow-citizens. 
Is  it  not,  then,  a  matter  of  unspeakable  importance,  that  each 
one  should  be  qualified  to  perform  his  part,  in  the  most  effi- 
cient and  useful  manner  ? 

After. what  we  have  advanced  in  previous  sections,  and 
especially  in  the  last,  it  can  hardly  be  necessary  to  insist 
that  education  does  contribute  most  powerfully  to  render 
men  more  efficient  both  a,s  producers  and  preservers  of  prop- 
erty. If  properly  conducted,  it  renders  them,  in  the  first 
place,  more  trustworthy,  and  thus  multiplies  the  ways,  in 
which  they  can  be  employed  with  profit  to  themselves,  and 
with  advantage  to  the  community.  In  the  second  place,  a 
labourer,  whose  mind  has  been  disciplined  by  culture,  works 
more  steadily  and  cheerfully,  and,  therefore,  more  product- 
ively, than  one  who,  when  a  child,  was  left  to  grovel  in  ig- 
norance and  idleness.  In  the  third  place,  such  a  labourer, 
having  both  knowledge  and  habitual  activity  of  mind,  is 
fruitful  in  expedients  to  render  his  exertions  more  diversi- 
fied and  profitable*  An'd  while,  in  these  several  ways,  ed- 
ucation contributes  to  swell  the  aggregate  of  values,  pro- 

*  Since  I  wrote  this  chapter,  I  have  read,  with  great  interest,  the 
last  report  of  the  Hon.  Mr.  Mann,  as  secretary  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Board  of  Education.  During  the  last  year  he  directed  his  at- 
tention to  the  relative  productiveness  of  the  labour  of  the  unedu- 
cated, and  of  those  who  have  had  the  advantages  of  a  good  common- 
school  education ;  and  he  gives  the  following  as  the  substance  of 
K2 


1  14  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

duced  in  a  community  in  any  given  time ;  it  also  secures, 
in  the  fourth  place,*  that  these  values,  instead  of  being 

the  answers  which  he  has  obtained  from  a  number  of  the  most  in- 
telligent manufacturers  and  business  men  of  New-England.  "  The 
result  of  the  investigation  is  a  most  astonishing  superiority  in  pro- 
ductive power  on  the  part  of  the  educated  over  the  uneducated  la- 
bourer. The  hand,  is  found  lo  be  unot/u.r  hand  when  guided  by  an  in- 
telligent mind.  Processes  are  performed,  not  only  more  rapidly,  but 
better,  when  faculties  which  have  been  cultivated  in  early  life  fur- 
nish their  assistance.  Individuals  who,  without  the  aid  of  knowl- 
edge, would  have  been  condemned  to  perpetual  inferiority  of  condi- 
tion, and  subjected  to  all  the  evils  of  want  and  poverty,  rise  to  com- 
petence and  independence  by  the  uplifting  power  of  education.  In 
great  establishments,  and  among  large  bodies  of  labouring  men, 
where  all  services  are  rated  according  to  their  pecuniary  value ; 
where  there  are  no  extrinsic  circumstances  to  bind  a  man  down  to 
a  fixed  condition,  after  he  has  shown  a  capacity  to  rise  above  it : 
where,  indeed,  men  pass  oy  each  oilier,  ascending  or  descending,  in 
their  grades  of  labour,  lust  as  easily  and  certainly  as  particles  of 
water  of  different  degrees  of  temperature  glide  by  each  other,  there 
is  it  found  as  an  almost  invariable  fact,  other  things  being  equal, 
that  those  who  have  been  blessed  with  a  good  common-school  edu- 
cation rise  to  a  higher  and  higher  point  in  the  kinds  of  labour  per- 
formed, and  also  in  the  rate  of  wages  paid,  while  the  ignorant  sink, 
like  dregs,  and  are  always  found  at  the  bottom." 

*"  From  the  accounts  which  pass  through  my  hands,"  says  M. 
Escher,  "  I  invariably  find  that  the  best  educated  of  our  work-people 
manage  to  live  in  the  most  respectable  manner  at  the  least  expense, 
or  make  their  money  go  the  farthest  in  obtaining  comforts.  This 
applies  equally  to  the  work-people  of  all  nations  that  have  come  un- 
der my  observations ;  the  Saxons,  and  the  Dutch,  and  the  Swiss, 
being,  however,  decidedly  the  most  saving,  without  stinting  them- 
selves in  their  comforts  or  failing  in  general  respectability.  With 
regard  to  the  English,  I  may  say,  that  the  educated  workmen  are 
the  only  ones  who  save  money  out  of  their  very  large  wages.  By 
education,  I  may  say,  that  I,  throughout,  mean  not  merely  instruc- 
tion in  the  art  of  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic,  but  better  general 
mental  development ;  the  acquisition  of  better  tastes,  of  mental 
amusements  and  enjoyments,  which  are  cheaper,  while  they  are 
more  refined.  The  most  educated  of  our  British  workmen  is  a 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  115 

wasted  through  improvidence  and  vice,  shall  be  employed 
as  instruments  of  reproduction,  and  thus  become  perma- 
nent sources  of  welfare  and  happiness.  Nor  ought  we 
to  omit,  in  this  brief  enumeration  of  the  material  advan- 
tages of  education  to  society,  that  it  tends  both  to  multiply 
and  to  refine  our  artificial  wants  ;*  thus  stimulating  us,  on  one 
hand,  to  greater  exertion  in  order  to  satisfy  these  wants,  and 
shielding  us,  on  the  other,  from  those  coarse  temptations 
which  tend  to  make  men  idlers  and  sots. 

Here  is  a  truth  which  seems  all  but  self-evident,  and  yet 
it  is  one,  grievously  neglected  in  the  speculations  of  politi- 
cal economists,  and  in  the  measures  of  practical  statesmen. 
Writers  on  Political  Economy  dwell  much,  on  the  importance 
of  enlisting  science  in  the  service  of  industry  ;  -but  it  is 
science  confined  for  the  most  part  to  physics,  and  to  be  stud- 
ied by  the  proprietor  or  superintendent,  rather  than  by  the 
operative.  So  statesmen,  especially  in  older  countries,  be- 
stow much  time,  and  invent  many  fruitless  expedients,  in  or- 
der to  improve  the  condition  of  the  working  classes,  at  the 
very  time  that  the  intellectual  and  moral  condition  of  those 
classes  renders  improvement  next  to  impossible. 

Scotch  engineer,  a  single  man,  who  has  a  salary  of  31.  a  week,  or 
1501.  a  year,  of  which  he  spends  about  the  half;  he  lives  in  very 
respectable  lodgings ;  he  is  always  well-dressed ;  he  frequents  read- 
ing-rooms ;  he  subscribes  to  a  circulating  library ;  purchases  math- 
ematical instruments,  studies  German,  and  has  every  rational  en- 
joyment. We  have  an  English  workman,  a  single  man,  of  the  same 
standing,  and  who  has  the  same  wages,  also  a  very  orderly  and  so- 
ber person  ;  but,  a*  his  education  does  not  open  to  him  the  resources  of 
mental  enjoyment,  fie  spends  his  evenings  and  Sundays  in  wine-houses, 
because  he  cannot  find  other  sources  of  amusement  which  presup- 
pose a  better  education,  and  he  spends  his  whole  pay,  or  one  half  more 
than  the  other.  The  extra  expenditure  of  the  workman  of  lower  condi- 
tion, of  751.  a  year,  arises  entirely,  as  far  as  I  can  judge,  from  the  in- 
ferior arrangement,  and  the  comparatively  higher  cost  of  the  more  sen- 
sual enjoyment  in  the  wine- house.'"  —  Report  of  Poor-Law  Commis~ 
sioners. 


116  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

In  all  these  matters  we  must  begin  at  the  beginning. 
We  must  remember,  that  mind  forms  the  chief  prerogative 
of  man,  and  that  he  can  never  exercise  his  proper  or  most 
useful  agency  in  any  capacity,  however  humble,  unless  that 
mind  be  cultivated  by  discipline  and  enlightened  by  knowl- 
edge. England  has  neglected  the  education  of  her  labour- 
ing population,  and  the  consequence  is,  that  the  land  swarms 
with  paupers  and  vagabonds  ;  New-England,  on  the  con- 
trary, from  the  first,  made  the  intellectual  and  moral  instruc- 
tion of  every  child  a  sacred  duty,  incumbent  both  on  his 
parents  and  on  the  commonwealth  ;  and  Avhat  was  the  re- 
sult ?  "  The  first  years  of  the  residence  of  the  Puritans 
in  America,"  says  Bancroft,  "  were  years  of  great  hardship 
and  affliction  ;  yet  it  is  an  error  to  suppose  that  this  short 
season  of  distress  was  not  promptly  followed  by  abundance 
and  happiness.  The  people  were,  from  the  first,  industri- 
ous, enterprising,  and  frugal,  and  affluence  followed,  of 
course.  When  persecution  ceased  in  England,  there  were 
already  in  New-England  '  thousands  who  would  not  change 
their  place  for  any  other  in  the  world,'  and  they  were  tempt- 
ed in  vain  with  invitations  to  the  Bahama  Isles,  to  Ireland, 
to  Jamaica,  to  Trinidad."  "  One  might  dwell  there  from 
year  to  year,  and  not  see  a  drunkard,  or  hear  an  oath,  or 
meet  a  beggar.*  The  consequence  was  universal  health, 
one  of  the  chief  elements  of  public  happiness.  The  aver- 
age duration  of  life  in  New-England,  compared  with  Eu- 
rope, was  nearly  doubled  ;  and  the  human  race  was  so  vig- 
orous, that  of  all  who  were  born  into  the  world,  more  than 
two  in  ten,  full  four  in  nineteen,  attained  the  age  of  seven- 
ty ;  of  those  who  lived  beyond  ninety,  the  proportion,  as 
compared  with  European  tables  of  longevity,  was  still  more 
remarkable." — See  BANCROFT,  vol.  i.,  p.  467. 

In  order  to  appreciate  these  material  and  economical  ad- 
vantages, which  education  confers  on  society,  we  may  insti- 

*  New-England's  First  Fruits,  printed  1643. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  117 

tute  various  other  comparisons.  We  may,  for  instance, 
compare  New-England,  with  her  free-schools  and  her  uni- 
versal education,  moving  steadily  and  rapidly  forward  in 
wealth  and  population,  in  spite  of  a  steril  soil  and  an  ungenial 
climate,  and  while  destitute  of  all  natural  channels  for  in- 
land commerce — we  may  compare  her,  thus  physically  crip- 
pled, with  other  portions  of  our  Republic  to  which  nature  has 
been  more  bountiful,  but  on  which  the  light  of  general  edu- 
cation has  not  shined, — and  we  shall  at  once  perceive  that 
such  education  is  unspeakably  more  important  than  a  luxu- 
riant soil,  fine  climate,  or  noble  rivers. 

So,  if  we  compare  the  largest  manufacturing  town  of  Eng- 
land (Manchester)  with  that  which  holds  a  corresponding 
place  in  our  own  country  (Lowell) :  in  Manchester,  full  one 
third  of  all  the  children  between  the  ages  of  five  and  fifteen 
receive'no  instruction  at  all  in  schools,  while  a  large  portion 
of  the  remaining  two  thirds  attend  schools  of  the  most 
wretched  description.*  In  Lowell,  schools  of  a  high  char- 

*  See  Reports  of  the  Statistical  Society  of  Manchester  on  the 
State  of  Education.  Also  vol.  i.  of  the  Publications  of  the  Central 
Society  of  Education,  p.  292,  &c. 

The  following  extracts  will  show  the  condition  of  many  of  them. 
"  Under  the  head  of  dame-schools  are  included  all  those  in  which 
reading  and  a  little  sewing  are  taught.  This  is  the  most  numerous 
class  of  schools,  and  they  are  generally  in  a  most  deplorable  condi- 
tion. The  greater  part  of  them  are  kept  by  females,  but  some  by 
old  men,  whose  only  qualification  for  this  employment  seems  to  be 
their  unfitness  for  any  other.  'Neither  parents  nor  teachers  seem 
to  consider  instruction  as  the  principal  object  in  sending  the  chil- 
dren to  these  schools ;  they  seem  to  regard  them  as  asylums  for 
mischievous  and  troublesome  children." — "  These  schools  are  gen 
erally  found  in  very  dirty,  unwholesome  rooms,  frequently  in  close, 
damp  cellars,  or  old,  dilapidated  garrets." — "  More  than  one  half  of 
them  are  used  as  dwelling,  dormitory,  and  schoolroom,  accommoda- 
ting, in  many  cases,  families  of  seven  or  eight  persons.  Above 
forty  of  them  are  in  cellars." — "  Very  few  of  the  teachers  of  dame- 
schools  allow  the  duties  which  they  owe  to  their  scholars  to  inter- 


118  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

acter,  supported  at  the  public  expense,  and  under  the  super- 
vision of  gentlemen  of  the  first  respectability,  are  open  to  all. 
Not  only  are  parents  anxious  to  send  their  children  to  these 
schools,  but  they  are  constantly  urged  to  do  it  by  the  propri- 
etors themselves,  who  are  convinced  that  they  gain  more  by 
having  their  operatives  educated  than  they  can  lose  by  hav- 
ing them  absent  from  the  mills,  when  children,  during  a  por- 
tion of  each  year. 

The  results  of  these  opposite  systems  are  such  as  we 
might  anticipate.  The  operatives  of  Manchester  are  im- 
provident and  immoral ;  they  are  at  war  with  their  employ- 
ers ;*  and  multitudes  of  them  are  on  the  verge  of  beggary. 
The  consequence  is,  that  they  consume  almost  as  rapidly  as 
they  produce.  In  Lowell,  on  the  other  hand,  "  The  factory 
operatives,"  to  use  the  language  of  a  late  English  traveller,! 
"  form  a  community  that  commands  the  respect  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood, and  of  all  under  whose  observation  they  come.  A 

fere  with  their  household  occupations."  Very  few  of  these  schools 
were  found  to  possess  more  than  fragments  of  books  ;  and,  in  many 
cases,  no  books  were  to  be  seen,  the  children  depending  for  their  instruc- 
tion on  the  chance  of  some  one  of  them  bringing  a  book,  or  a  part  of  one, 
from  home. 

*  "I  have  uniformly  found,"  says  H.  Bartlett,  Esq.,  of  Lowell,  "  the 
better  educated,  as  a  class,  possessing  a  higher  and  better  state  of 
morals,  more  orderly  and  respectful  in  their  deportment,  and  more 
ready  to  comply  with  the  wholesome  and  necessary  regulations  of 
an  establishment.  And  in  times  of  agitation,  on  account  of  some 
change  in  regulations  or  wages,  I  have  always  looked  to  the  most 
intelligent,  best  educated,  and  the  most  moral  for  support,  and  have 
seldom  been  disappointed.  For,  while  they  are  the  last  to  submit 
to  imposition,  they  reason,  and  if  your  requirements  are  reasonable, 
they  will  generally  acquiesce,  and  exert  a  salutary  influence  upon 
their  associates.  But  the  ignorant  and  uneducated  I  have  generally 
found  the  most  turbulent  and  troublesome,  acting  under  the  impulse 
of  excited  passion  and  jealousy."— See  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Massachusetts  Board  of  Education  for  1841. 

t  A  Visit  to  the  United  States  in  1841,  by  Joseph  Sturge. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  119 

considerable  number  of  the  girls  are  fanners'  daughters,  and 
come  hither  from  the  distant  states  of  Vermont  and  New- 
Hampshire,  &c.,  to  work  for  two,  three,  or  four  years,  when 
they  return  to  their  native  hills,  dowered  with  a  little  capi- 
tal of  their  own  earnings.  No  female  of  an  immoral  char- 
acter could  remain  a  week  in  any  of  the  mills.  The  super- 
intendent of  the  Boott  Corporation  told  me  that,  during  the 
five  and  a  half  years  of  his  superintendence  of  that  factory, 
employing  about  nine  hundred  and  fifty  young  women,  he 
had  known  of  but  one  case  of  an  illegitimate  birth — and  the 
mother  was  an  Irish  '  immigrant.'  Any  male  or  female  em- 
ployed, who  was  known  to  be  in  a  state  of  inebriety,  would 
be  at  once  dismissed." 

We  cannot  be  surprised  to  hear  that  such  a  community  is 
eminently  prosperous.  "  The  average  wages,  clear  of  board, 
amount  to  about  two  dollars  a  week.*  Many  an  aged  fa- 
ther or  mother,  in  the  country,  is  made  happy  and  comfort- 
able by  the  self-sacrificing  contributions  from  their  affec- 
tionate and  dutiful  daughter  here.  Many  an  old  homestead 
has  been  cleared  of  its  encumbrances,  and  thus  saved  to  the 

*  The  average  of  women's  wages  in  the  departments  requiring 
the  most  skill  is  $2  50  per  week,  exclusive  of  board.  The  average 
of  wages  in  the  lowest  department  is  $1  25.  To  show  the  influence 
which  education  has  on  the  earnings  of  the  female  operative,  one 
of  the  directors  of  the  largest  establishment  at  Springfield  (J.  K.  Mills, 
Esq.,  of  Boston)  states  that  two  thirds  of  those  who  are  unable  to 
write  are  employed  in  the  lowest  department,  and  that  their  wages  are 
lower  by  66  per  cent,  than  the  wages  of  an  equal  number  of  the 
better  educated  class.  He  also  states  it  "  as  his  belief,  that  the  best 
cotton-mill  in  New-England,  with  such  operatives  as  these,  who  are 
.unable  to  write  their  names,  would  never  yield  the  proprietor  a 
profit ;  that  the  machinery  would  soon  be  worn  out,  and  he  would 
be  left  in  a  short  time"  with  a  population  no  better  than  one  of  six- 
ty-three persons  which  they  had  imported  from  England,  and  which, 
being  destitute  of  education,  proved  to  be  unable  to  earn  sufficient 
to  pay  for  their  subsistence. — See  Report  far  1841  of  the  Secretary  of 
the  Massachusetts  Board  of  Education. 


120  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

family,  by  these  liberal  and  honest  earnings.  Of  the  depos- 
itors in  the  Lowell  Institution  for  Savings,  nine  hundred 
and  seventy-eight  (being  about  one  half  of  the  whole  num- 
ber of  depositors)  are  factory  girls,  and  the  amount  of  their 
funds  now  in  the  bank  is  estimated,  in  round  numbers,  at 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  which  is  about  one  third  of 
the  whole  amount  on  deposite.  It  is  a  common  thing  for 
one  of  these  girls  to  have  five  hundred  dollars  in  deposite, 
and  the  only  reason  why  she  does  not  exceed  this  sum  is 
the  fact  that  the  institution  pays  no  interest  on  any  larger 
sum  than  this.  After  reaching  this  amount,  she  invests  her 
remaining  funds  elsewhere." 

I  might  easily  multiply  proofs  of  this  kind  ;  but  I  proceed 
to  two  most  important  conclusions  which  they  seem  to  sug- 
gest, and  which  are  worthy  of  deep  consideration  in  this 
countiy.  The  first  is,  that  education  affords  the  most  certain 
and  effectual  means  of  developing  the  industrial  resources  of 
a  country,  and  promoting  its  growth  and  prosperity.  Free- 
dom is  doubtless  indispensable  to  the  largest  development 
even  of  wealth ;  but,  unless  it  be  combined  with  the  diffu- 
sion of  knowledge  among  the  whole  people,  and  with  the 
refined  tastes  and  orderly  habits  induced  by  education,  it 
will  often  degenerate  into  vice  and  idleness,  and  will  em- 
ploy itself,  now  in  wasting  property,  and  now  in  obstructing 
the  best  means  for  increasing  it.  So,  again,  much  may  bt 
accomplished  by  associations  for  the  encouragement  of 
manufactures  and  agriculture,  and  much,  too,  by  legislation 
so  directed  as  to  foster  native  enterprise,  and  protect  the  la- 
bour of  our  own  citizens  against  the  overwhelming  compe- 
tition of  foreigners.  But  these  expedients  are  often  tran- 
sient and  irregular  in  their  action ;  and  they  also  promote, 
too  frequently,  a  spurious  and  premature  growth  in  some 
branches  of  industry,  to  the  neglect  of  others  equally  im- 
portant. Render  the  people  intelligent,  frugal,  and  indus- 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  121 

trious,  by  means  of  education,  and  there  need,  then,  be  no 
fear.  They  will  find  means  to  protect  themselves.  They 
will  be  equally  ready  to  apply  individual  effort,  the  power 
of  associated  action,  and  the  influence  of  wise  and  well-di- 
gested laws.  In  order  to  encourage  native  talent  and  en- 
terprise, and  promote  the  amplest  development  of  their  re- 
sources, they  will  maintain  all  necessary  restraints  on 
freedom,  but  they  will  submit  to  none  that  are  not  neces- 
sary. What  is  yet  more  important,  the  inhabitants  of  each 
section  of  the  country  will  be  able  to  comprehend  the  ca- 
pabilities of  their  own  position,  and  will  be  impelled  to  make 
the  most  of  them.* 

*  "  It  is  a  fact  of  universal  notoriety,  that  the  manufacturing  pop- 
ulation of  England,  as  a  class,  work  for  half,  or  less  than  half,  the 
wages  of  our  own.  The  cost  of  machinery  there,  also,  is  but  about 
half  as  much  as  the  cost  of  the  same  articles  with  us  ;  while  our 
capital,  when  loaned,  produces  nearly  double  the  rate  of  English  in- 
terest. Yet,  against  these  grand  adverse  circumstances,  our  man- 
ufacturers, with  a  small  per  centage  of  tariff,  successfully  compete 
with  English  capitalists  in  many  branches  of  manufacturing  busi- 
ness. No  explanation  can  be  given  of  this  extraordinary  fact,  which 
does  not  take  into  account  the  difference  of  education  between  the 
operatives  of  the  two  countries."  It  follows,  too,  "  as  a  most  im- 
portant and  legitimate  inference,  that  it  is  our  wisest  policy,  as  citi- 
zens— if,  indeed,  it  be  not  a  duty  of  self-preservation  as  men — to  im- 
prove the  education  of  our  whole  people,  both  in  its  quantity  and 
quality.  I  have  been  told  by  one  of  our  most  careful  and  successful 
manufacturers,  that  on  substituting,  in  one  of  his  cotton-mills,  a  better 
for  a  poorer  class  of  operatives,  he  was  enabled  to  add  twelve  per  cent,  to 
the  speed,  of  his  machinery,  without  any  increase  of  damage  or  danger 
from  the  acceleration.'1'' — Report  of  H.  Mann  for  1841. 

To  the  same  effect  is  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Bartlett,  of  Lowell,  from 
whom  I  have  already  quoted.  "  From  my  own  observation  and  ex-, 
perience,"  says  he,  "  I  am  perfectly  satisfied  that  the  owners  of  man- 
ufacturing property  have  a  deep  pecuniary  interest  in  the  education 
and  morals  of  their  help ;  and  I  believe  the  time  is  not  distant  when 
the  truth  of  this  will  appear  more  and  more  clear.  And,  as  compe- 

L 


122  THE    SCHOOL   AND 

I  would  suggest  here,  whether,  in  addition  to  a  good 
general  education,  it  is  not  important,  at  this  time,  that  our 
youth  should  receive  some  special  instruction,  in  the  theory 
and  processes  of  the  various  useful  arts.  In  other  coun- 
tries, great  pains  have  been  taken,  for  the  last  twenty  years, 
to  instruct  young  persons,  intended  for  trades,  in  a  knowl- 
edge of  such  branches  of  science  and  art,  as  are  most  near- 
ly related  to  those  trades  ;  and  also,  to  give  them  some  ac- 
quaintance with  general  technology.  Schools  of  arts  and 
manufactures,  agricultural  seminaries,  and  institutions  in 
which  the  children  of  the  poor  may  be  early  trained  to  hab- 
its of  industry,  and  to  some  skill  in  the  rudiments  of  art,  are 
now  rapidly  multiplying  over  Europe.  On  the  Continent,  in 
particular,  they  are  much  relied  on,  as  among  the  most  ef- 
ficient means  of  developing  and  perfecting  the  arts  of  indus- 
try, and  of  thus  enabling  the  several  governments  to  compete 
successfully  with  the  immense  skill  and  capital  which  Eng- 
land has  invested  in  these  arts,  and  by  means  of  which,  in 
connexion  with  her  restrictive  policy  in  trade,  she  has  made 
herself,  until  recently,  the  workshop  of  the  world.  The 
states  of  Europe  are  now  fast  emancipating  themselves 

tition  becomes  more  close,  and  small  circumstances  of  more  impor- 
tance in  turning  the  scale  in  favour  of  one  establishment  over  an- 
other, I  believe  it  will  be  seen  that  the  establishment,  other  things 
being  equal,  which  has  the  best  educated  and  the  most  moral  -help, 
will  give  the  greatest  production  at  the  least  cost  per  pound.  So 
confident  am  I  that  production  is  affected  by  the  intellectual  and 
moral  character  of  help,  that,  whenever  a  mill  or  a  room  should  fail 
to  give  the  proper  amount  of  work,  my  first  inquiry,  after  that  re- 
specting the  condition  of  the  machinery,  would  be,  as  to  the  charac- 
ter of  the  help ;  and  if  the  deficiency  remained  any  great  length  of 
time,  I  am  sure  I  should  find  many  who  had  made  their  marks  on  the 
pay-roll,  being  unable  to  write  their  names ;  and  I  should  be  great- 
ly disappointed  if  I  did  not,  upon  inquiry,  find  a  portion  of  them  of 
irregular  habits  and  suspicious  character." 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  123 

from  this  state  of  dependance,  by  cultivating  their  own  re- 
sources ;  and  in  doing  this,  they  place  great  reliance  on 
the  improved  education  of  their  people,  and  especially  on 
such  education  as  will  develop  the  industrial  skill  and  talent 
which  are  now  required.  Is  it  not  of  the  utmost  importance, 
that  a  similar  policy  should  be  pursued  in  our  own  country  ? 
A  second  conclusion,  forced  upon  us  by  the  views  which 
we  have  now  taken,  is,  that  general  education  among  a  peo- 
ple forms  the  best  preventive  of  pauperism.  This  is  a  dis- 
ease which,  once  ingrafted  on  the  state,  seems  hardly  to 
admit  of  remedy.  It  is  the  very  cancer  of  the  body  poli- 
tic, and  tends  to  reproduce  and  perpetuate  itself,  in  the  most 
insidious  and  inveterate  manner.  The  only  wise  or  effect- 
ual expedient,  then,  is  to  anticipate,  and  prevent  it.  To  ward 
off  such  indigence  as  results  from  mental  imbecility,  and 
from  those  sudden  and  fearful  reverses  which  Providence 
sometimes  sends  to  teach  us  our  frailty,  is,  of  course,  impos- 
sible ;  but  nearly  nine  tenths  of  all  pauperism  actually  exist- 
ing in  any  country  may  be  traced  directly  to  moral  causes, 
such  as  improvidence,  idleness,  intemperance,  and  a  want  of 
moderate  energy  and  enterprise.  Now  it  is  hardly  necessa- 
ry to  add,  that  education,  if  it  be  imparted  to  all  the  rising 
generation,  and  be  pervaded,  also,  by  the  right  spirit,  will  re- 
move these  fruitful  sources  of  indigence.  It  will  make  the 
young  provident,  industrious,  temperate,  and  frugal ;  and 
with  such  virtues,  aided  by  intelligence,  they  can  hardly 
fail,  in  after  life,  to  gain  a  comfortable  support  for  them- 
selves and  their  families.  I  have  already  (p.  102,  note)  quo- 
ted one  fact  which  confirms  this  position,  and  others,  not 
less  impressive  and  convincing,  would  be  found  in  every 
almshouse  in  the  world.  Could  the  paupers  of  our  own 
state  be  collected  into  one  group,  it  would  be  found,  I  doubt 
not,  that  three  out  of  every  four,  if  not  Jive  out  of  every  six, 
owe  their  present  humiliating  position,  to  some  defect  or 
omission  in  their  early  training.  I  annex,  in  a  note,  one 


124 


THE    SCHOOL   AND 


statement,  which  will  show,  how  closely,  pauperism  and  a 
defective  education  are  related  in  England.* 

*  The  committee  of  the  Central  Society  has  been  favoured  by  a 
gentleman  connected  with  the  Poor-Law  Commission,  with  returns 
exhibiting  the  state  of  education  among  paupers  above  the  age  of 
sixteen,  the  inmates  of  workhouses  in  the  two  incorporated  hun- 
dreds and  ten  unions  in  the  county  of  Suffolk ;  in  the  three  incor- 
porated hundreds  and  twelve  unions  in  the  county  of  Norfolk,  and 
the  twelve  unions  in  the  eastern  division  of  Kent.  The  number  of 
paupers  included  in  these  returns  is  2725,  viz.,  1323  men  and  1412 
women,. and  the  time  when  the  information  was  collected  was  June. 
1837. 

Besides  the  distinction  of  sexes,  the  paupers  are  divided  into 
three  classes,  viz.,  able-bodied,  temporarily  disabled,  and  old  and 
infirm ;  and  it  is  stated,  with  reference  to  each  class,  how  many  can 
read  in  a  superior  manner,  how  many  can  read  decently,  and  how 
many  imperfectly  ;  their  acquirements  in  regard  to  writing  are  also 
given  with  the  same  gradations ;  the  number  of  paupers  who  can 
neither  read  nor  write  is  next  stated,  and,  lastly,  the  number  of  each 
class  who  had  been  the  inmates  of  workhouses  before  the  formation 
of  the  respective  unions. 

The  difference  observable  in  these  various  respects  between  the 
paupers  of  the  different  counties  is  not  so  great  as  to  require  their 
being  separately  noticed ;  and  it  will,  therefore,  be  sufficient  for  the 
present  purpose  to  present  the  result  of  the  inquiry  as  though  the 
whole  were  belonging  to  the  same  community. 


Number  of  each  class  in  workhouses 
Number  who  can  read  superiorly 
Number  who  can  read  decently  . 
Number  who  can  read  imperfectly 
Number  who  can  write  superiorly 
Number  who  can  write  decently 
Number  who  can  write  imperfectly 
Number  who  can  neither  read  por  write 
Number  of  inmates  of  workhouses  before  union 

It  cannot  fail  to  strike  every  one  who  sees  these  figures,  how  ex- 
ceedingly small  is  the  proportion  of  those  persons  who,  having  been 
so  far  instructed  as  to  be  able  to  read  and  write  in  a  superior  man- 
ner, are  found  to  be  inmates  of  the  workhouse.  Fluency  in  the  art 


MEN. 

WOMEX. 

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1761 

THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  125 

II.  If,  again,  we  consider  society  as  a  political  and  moral 
partnership,  intended  to  protect  its  members  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  their  rights,  and  to  enlarge  their  means  of  happi- 
ness and  improvement  we  shall  find  education  equally  use- 
ful. Though  its  ostensible  object  should  only  be  to  im- 
prove the  intellect,  it  will  still  be  apt  to  operate  benignly 
on  the  moral  sentiments  and  habits,  and  will  tend  to  make 
its  subjects  better  men  and  better  citizens.  By  its  lessons 
and  tasks  it  tends  to  substitute  reflection  and  deliberative 
effort  in  place  of  mere  impulse.  By  its  discipline  it  con- 
tributes, insensibly,  to  generate  a  spirit  of  subordination  to 
lawful  authority,  a  power  of  self-control,  and  a  habit  of 
postponing  present  indulgence  to  a  greater  future  good  ; 
and,  finally,  by  the  knowledge  which  it  communicates,  it 
enlarges  a  child's  conceptions  of  his  true  interests,  and 
teaches  him  that  forecast,  self-restraint,  and  a  correct  moral 
deportment  are  indispensable  prerequisites  to  success  in 
life.  The  same  effects  must  follow,  in  a  much  higher  de- 
gree, when  intellectual  instruction  has  been  combined  with 
proper  moral  culture.  We  never  expect,  in  such  cases, 
that  men  will  employ  the  power  which  education  has  given 
them,  in  injuring  their  country  by  violence  or  by  more  insid- 
ious means  ;  we  expect  to  find  them  obedient  to  the  laws, 
careful  of  the  public  welfare,  judicious  and  exemplary  in  the 
management  of  their  families,  and  upright  and  respectable 
in  all  their  deportment.  If  they  live  under  a  popular  form  of 
government,  where  they  choose  their  own  magistrates,  and 
have  a  controlling  voice  in  legislation,  we  expect  to  find 

of  reading,  unaccompanied  by  proficiency  in  writing,  affords  no  proof 
of  adequate  instruction.  It  would  be  more  correct  to  say,  that  the 
absence  of  the  latter  acquirement  is  in  itself  evidence  of  the  uncul- 
tivated condition  of  the  mind.  It  will  be  seen  that  among  the  2725 
paupers,  included  in  the  foregoing  statement,  only  fourteen,  or  one 
in  195,  could  write  well;  and  that  if  we  add  to  the  1402  persons 
who  can  neither  read  nor  write  those  who  can  read  only  imper- 
fectly, they  make  up  just  two  thirds. 
L2 


126  THE    SCHOOL   AND 

them  distinguished  for  enlightened  attachment  to  their  coun- 
try, and  for  the  sagacity  and  honesty  with  which  they  ex- 
ercise their  political  powers. 

"  It  has  been  observed,"  says  a  judicious  writer,*  "  that 
if  the  French  had  been  an  educated  people,  many  of  the 
atrocities  of  their  revolution  would  never  have  happened  ; 
and  I  believe  it.  Furious  mobs  are  composed,  not  of  en- 
lightened, but  of  unenlightened  men  ;  of  men  in  whom  the 
passions  are  dominant  over  the  judgment,  because  the  judg- 
ment has  not  been  exercised,  and  informed,  and  habituated 
to  direct  the  conduct.  A  factious  declaimer  can  much  less 
easily  influence  a  number  of  men  who  acquire  at  schools  the 
rudiments  of  knowledge,  arid  who  have  subsequently  devo- 
ted their  leisure  to  a  Mechanics'  Institute,  than  a  multitude 
who  cannot  read  or  write,  and  who  have  never  practised  rea- 
soning and  considerate  thought.  And  as  the  education  of  a 
people  prevents  political  evils,  it  effects  political  good.  Do- 
mestic rulers  well  know,  that  knowledge  is  inimical  to  their 
power.  This  simple  fact  is  a  sufficient  reason  to  a  good 
and  wise  man  to  approve  knowledge  and  extend  it.  The 
attention  to  public  institutions  and  public  measmes  which  is 
inseparable  from  an  educated  population,  is  a  great  good. 
We  well  know,  that  the  human  heart  is  such,  that  the  posses- 
sion of  power  is  commonly  attended  with  a  desire  to  increase 
it,  even  in  opposition  to  the  general  weal.  It  is  acknowl- 
edged that  a  check  is  needed,  and  no  check  is  either  so  ef- 
ficient or  so  safe,  as  that  of  a  watchful  and  intelligent  public 
mind :  so  watchful  that  it  is  prompt  to  discover  and  expose 
what  is  amiss  ;  so  intelligent  that  it  is  able  to  form  rational 
judgments  respecting  the  nature  and  the  means  of  amend- 
ment.f  In  all  public  institutions  there  exists,  and  it  is  happy 

*  Dymond:  see  Essays  on  the  Principles  of  Morals,  Ess.  ii., 
chap.  xiii. 

t  A  striking  example  of  this  powerful  and  salutary  restraint  on 
arbitrary  power  is  thus  noticed  by  a  late  traveller :  "  The  victory  of 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  127 

that  there  does  exist,  a  sort  of  vis  inertiae  which  habitually 
resists  change.  This,  which  is  beneficial  as  a  general  ten- 
dency, is  often  injurious  from  its  excess.  The  state  of  pub- 
lic institutions,  almost  throughout  the  world,  bears  sufficient 
testimony  to  the  truth,  that  they  need  alteration  and  amend- 
ment faster  than  they  receive  it ;  that  the  internal  resistance 
to  change  is  greater  than  is  good  for  man.  Unhappily,  the 
ordinary  way  in  which  a  people  have  endeavoured  to  amend 
their  institutions,  has  been  by  some  mode  of  violence.  If 
you  ask  when  a  nation  acquired  a  greater  degree  of  freedom, 
you  are  referred  to  some  era  of  revolution,  and  probably  of 
blood.  These  are  not  proper — certainly  they  are  not  Chris- 
tian remedies  for  the  disease.  It  is  becoming  an  undispu- 
ted proposition,  that  no  bad  institution  can  permanently  stand 

intellect  over  the  trammels  of  aristocracy  has  been  powerfully  ex- 
emplified within  the  space  of  sixty  years,  in  the  Protestant  states  of 
Germany.  Constitutional  governments  they  may  not  have  secured ; 
forms  of  liberty  they  still  want ;  but  the  lethargy  and  servitude  of 
mind  which  the  olden  dynasties  had  so  rigorously  cherished,  have 
passed  away  through  the  one  opening  left  to  the  freedom  of  the 
German  people.  They  were  permitted  to  read,  and  they  had  men 
to  write.  Imposts,  oppressions,  and  the  whole  train  of  feudal  be- 
quests have  fled,  one  by  one,  before  the  minds  emancipated  and 
moulded,  by  the  newborn  literature  of  the  present  century.  The 
people  have  possessed  themselves  of  the  records  of  their  ancient 
glory  and  independence.  Miiller,  Goethe,  and  Schiller  revived  and 
immortalized  the  faded  memory  of  foregone  greatness,  and  gave  im- 
perishable impulse  to  worthier  and  yet  more  fruitful  influences.  The 
press  of  Germany  has  achieved  the  freedom  of  more  than  was  ever 
enslaved.  The  Prussian  government,  a  nominal  oligarchy,  is 
among  the  most  essentially  popular  of  all  the  governments  of  Eu- 
rope. The  people  do  not  elect  their  representatives,  but  the  gov- 
ernment, nevertheless,  faithfully  represents  the  people.  They  have, 
therefore,  the  substance  without  the  outward  form  of  freedom. 
This  must  not  be  attributed  to  any  virtue  inherent  in  irresponsible 
power.  It  is  because  the  power  of  the  Prussian  government  is  re- 
sponsible to  an  educated  opinion,  an  opinion  of  which  it  too  thor- 
oughly partakes  not  to  regard  " — London  Athenaum,  No.  746,  p  148. 


128  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

against  the  distinct  opinion  of  a  people.  This  opinion  is 
likely  to  be  universal,  and  to  be  intelligent  only  among  an 
enlightened  community." 

If  this  is  everywhere  true,  it  must  be  pre-eminently  so,  in 
a  republic.  In  this  country  it  has  become  almost  a  truism, 
that  general  education  is  indispensable,  in  order  to  qualify 
our  people,  for  the  discharge  of  their  political  and  social  du- 
ties. The  vast  responsibilities  with  which  they  are  charged, 
are  not  to  be  duly  met  by  means  of  any  instincts,  however 
powerful  or  generous.  God  has  not  given  to  man,  as  to 
the  beasts  of  the  field,  blind  but  unerring  impulses,  which 
supersede  all  vigilance  and  painful  effort,  and  which  con- 
duct him  by  a  path,  never  to  be  mistaken,  to  his  true  des- 
tiny. The  people  of  this  great  Republic,  have  no  more  a 
native  and  inherent  ability  to  exercise  wisely  the  privilege 
of  voting,  than  they  have  to  predict  without  instruction,  and 
yet  with  unfailing  precision,  the  return  of  a  comet,  or  the 
occultation  of  some  bright  star  in  the  heavens.  All  these 
are  powers  to  be  unfolded  and  enlightened  by  culture  ;  and 
the  culture  which  qualifies  a  free  people  for  their  political 
duties  must  be  generous  and  comprehensive,  including  the 
moral  as  well  as  the  intellectual  faculties,  and  aiming  to  make 
good  citizens  by  first  making  good  and  enlightened  men.  It 
must  be  a  culture  which,  though  commenced  at  school  and 
under  the  guidance  of  others,  shall  be  subsequently  pros- 
ecuted by  the  individual  himself,  and  carried  forward  amid 
the  cares  of  active  life  ;  and  which,  if  it  would  fulfil 
completely  its  high  purposes,  must  never  count  itself  to 
have  apprehended.  Wo  to  the  people  with  democratic  in- 
stitutions who  shall  forget  or  underrate  this  momentous  truth.* 

*  A  late  eloquent  writer  on  Education  in  France  (Girarclin)  lias 
touched  upon  this  truth  with  force  :  "  The  hest  institutions,"  says 
he,  "  where  the  education  of  the  people  is  not  sufficiently  profound 
and  general  to  develop  their  principles,  are  only  elements  of  disturb- 
ance cast  into  the  bosom  of  society  ;  for  they  create  wants  which 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  129 

Already,  to  the  provident  and  reflecting  mind,  does  Ichabod 
seem  inscribed  on  that  land  which  forgets  its  own  weak- 
ness, and  which  does  not,  with  prayer  to  the  God  of  na- 
tions, couple  general  and  generovfs  efforts  to  cultivate  mind, 
and  to  uphold  in  its  midst  the  interests  of  truth  and  vir- 
tue. When  such  a  land  allows  itself  to  be  lulled  to  sleep 
by  the  siren  song  that  the  people  cannot  err,  and  that  they 
have  only  to  be  left  without  restraint  or  guidance,  in  order 
to  develop  the  greatest  perfection  of  the  social  state — when 
this,  the  cant  of  demagogues,  becomes  the  real  creed  of  the 
people  themselves,  in  their  homes  and  their  hearts,  is  it 
presumptuous  to  say  that  such  a  nation,  so  deceived  and 
betrayed,  must  soon,  however  bright  with  promise  now, 
be  numbered  among  the  republics  that  have  been;  that  its 
name,  at  no  distant  dav  will  oe  quoted  only  as  a  beacon, 
bv  fhc  ^icjuaiced  to  warn  against  all  free  institutions,  and 
by  the  wise  to  prove  the  folly  and  peril  of  such  institutions 
— when  not  based  on  intelligence  and  virtue.* 

they  cannot  satisfy  aiey  are  lavish  of  rights  and  duties ;  they 
weak":,  governments,  which,  by  the  multiplication  of  laws,  render 
their  execution  impossible ;  they  concentre  to  excess  in  a  few  ar- 
dent minds  those  ideas  which  ought  to  be  imperceptibly  absorbed  by 
the  whole  population.  These  ideas  ferment  and  explode  for  want 
of  vent.  It  is  thus  that  institutions  which  produce  more  power  than 
they  can  usually  employ,  perish  by  the  excess  of  that  which  it  be- 
comes necessary  to  compress. — The  instruction  of  the  people  en- 
dangers absolute  governments ;  their  ignorance,  on  the  contrary, 
imperils  representative  governments ;  for  the  parliamentary  debates, 
while  they  reveal  to  the  masses  the  extent  of  their  rights,  do  not 
wait  till  they  can  exercise  them  with  discernment ;  and  when  a 
people  knows  its  rights,  there  is  but  one  way  to  govern — to  educate 
them." 

*  One  of  the  most  striking  proofs  of  the  aid  and  support  afforded 
to  republican  institutions  by  a  good  system  of  popular  education,  is 
presented  by  the  democratic  cantons  of  Switzerland.  The  condi- 
tion of  the  people  is  described  by  tourists  as  one  of  great  social  com- 
fort*, great  equality  of  condition,  and,  under  all  their  peculiarities  of 


130  THE    SCHOOL   AND 

The  power  of  education  is  never  displayed  more  striking- 
ly, than  when  it  enters  some  community  which  has  been 
hitherto  deprived  of  it.  Dr.  Johnson  has  somewhere  no- 
soil  and  climate,  as  one  of  singular  prosperity.  They  seem  to  live 
like  one  great  family  rather  than  in  the  distinct  relations  of  classes, 
demarcated  and  distanced  by  degrees  of  wealth  and  rank.  "This 
intermixture  of  classes,  however,"  says  a  traveller,  "  is  wonderfully 
divested  of  the  offensive  familiarities  which  would  infallibly  arise  from 
it  in  less  educated  countries.  Deferential  respect  is  paid,  perhaps, 
rather  to  age  and  moral  station  than  to  mere  affluence  ;  but  I  have 
seldom  witnessed  any  departure,  from  a  tone  and  manner  of  affec- 
tionate courtesy,  on  the  part  of  the  poorer  towards  the  higher  class- 
es. This  may,  however,  be  mainly  attributable  to  the  habitual  and 
kindly  consideration,  shown  to  the  working  classes,  by  their  supe- 
riors. Whether  this  results  from  a  higher  religious  sense  of  the 
duty  of  doing  to  others  as  we  would  be  done  by  ;  whether  from  nat- 
ural kind-heartedness,  or  whether  from  a  knowledge  of  the  power 
possessed  by  each  man,  merely  as  a  man,  in  a  country  where  they 
assemble  round  the  fountain  in  the  market-place,  and  select  their 
law-makers  after  their  own  free  choice  and  judgment,  I  know  not ; 
but,  be  it  from  love  or  be  it  from  fear,  certain  is  it  that  a  kindly  feel- 
ing is  evinced  by  employers  to  the  employed  in  Northern  Switzer- 
land, of  which  few  other  countries  afford  an  example." 

After  referring  to  the  rapidity  with  which,  owing  to  their  general 
intelligence,  this  people  overcame  their  deep  repugnance  to  the  in- 
troduction of  cotton-mills  and  machine  power,  the  same  writer  pro- 
ceeds to  account  for  their  happy  social  condition.  "  Switzerland  is 
clearly  indebted  to  the  highly-educated,  or,  to  speak  more  correctly, 
to  the  extensively-educated  mind  of  her  people,  for  her  singular 
prosperity  and  advancement.  Brilliant  talents,  or  any  eminent  pow- 
ers of  intellect,  are  very  rarely  found  among  the  Swiss  ;  but  for  sound 
good  sense,  and  general  proficiency  in  the  commoner  branches  of 
education,  I  do  not  think  that  there  is  a  people  equal  to  them.  A 
family  in  one  of  the  villages  I  visited  in  the  canton  of  Zurich  was 
pointed  out  to  me  as  unusually  disreputable,  and  I  was  cautioned  not 
to  take  anything  I  saw  there  as  a  sample  of  the  rest.  One  of  the 
heaviest  charges  made  against  the  conduct  of  the  master  was,  that 
he  had  been  repeatedly  warned  by  the  gemeindamman  to  send  two 
of  his  children  to  school,  who  were  turned  of  eight  years  old ;  that 
he  had  proved  so  refractory  that  at  length  the  stadtholder  had  been 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  131 

ticed  the  reformation  of  a  parish  in  a  very  savage  state,  by 
the   civilizing  influence  of  a  decayed  gentlewoman,  who 

informed  of  his  conduct,  and  it  was  only  when  he  found  he  was 
about  to  be  fined  that  he  complied  With  the  law." 

The  effect  of  an  improved  and  extended  education  on  the  inhab- 
itants of  Prussia  is  thus  stated  by  Mr.  Wyse,  after  a  tour  of  personal 
inspection  in  that  country :  "  What  is  the  real  social  result  of  all 
this  1  How  has  it  affected  the  population  for  good  or  ill  ?  How  is 
it  likely  to  affect  them  in  future  1  The  narratives  given  by  Pesta- 
lozzi,  De  Fellenberg,  Oberlin,  and  the  Pere  Girard.  of  the  singular 
revolution,  mental  and  moral,  I  may  also  add,  physical,  effected  by 
the  application  of  their  system  of  teaching  on  a  hitherto  ignorant 
and  vicious  population,  though  admitted  to  be  isolated  experiments, 
ought  not  the  less  to  be  considered  evidences  of  the  intrinsic  force 
of  the  instrument  itself,  and  of  its  power  to  produce  similar  results, 
wherever  and  whenever  fairly  tried,  without  reference  to  country 
or  numbers  ;  that  is,  whenever  applied  with  the  same  earnestness, 
honesty,  and  skill  in  other  instances  as  in  theirs.  And  of  this  por- 
tion of  Prussia — of  the  Rhenish  provinces — it  maybe  surely  averred* 
that  it  has  now  been  for  some  time  under  the  influence  of  this  sys^ 
tcm,  and  that  during  that  period,  whether  resulting  from  such  influ- 
ence or  not,  its  progress  in  intelligence,  industry,  and  morality,  in 
the  chief  elements  of  virtue  and  happiness,  has  been  steadily  and 
strikingly  progressive.  In  few  parts  of  the  civilized  world  is  there 
more  marked  exemption  from  all  crimes  of  violence."  "The 
same  abstinence  from  offences  against  property  is  conspicuous." 
"  Doubtless  much  of  this  most  gratifying  result  may  be  ascribed  to 
comfort  and  employment.  But  this,  again,  must  be  ascribed  to  some 
still  higher  cause.  There  is  comfort,  because  there  is  frugality ; 
there  is  employment,  because  there  is  the  desire,  and  search,  and 
love  of  it.  There  is  industry,  incessant,  universal,  in  eveiy  class, 
from  high  to  low,  because  there  are  the  early  habits  of  useful  occu- 
pation, and  there  are  these  habits  because  there  is  sound  and  gen- 
eral education."  "  The  clergyman  admitted  that  his  flock  had  not 
become  worse  Christians  for  becoming  more  intelligent  men  ;  the 
officer,  that  his  men  had  grown  more  obedient  as  they  had  grown 
more  instructed :  a  word  now  led  where  a  cane  formerly  was  insuf- 
ficient ;  the  farmer  for  the  increased  profits  of  his  farm,  as  the  man- 
ufacturer for  those  of  his  factory,  thanked  the  school.  Skill  had  in- 
creased, and  conduct  had  improved  with  knowledge — profits  with 


132  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

came  among  them  to  teach  school.  It  was  a  subject  wor- 
thy of  his  pen.  The  world  has  recently  witnessed  a  sim- 
ilar transformation,  effected,  in  part,  through  the  same  means, 
by  the  Pastor  Oberlin,  on  the  Mountains  of  Alsace.  No- 
thing could  exceed  the  poverty,  ignorance,  and  wretchedness 
which  prevailed  among  the  peasants  who  composed  his 
parish.  The  state  of  education  in  the  principal  village  may 
be  inferred  from  the  character  of  their  only  schoolmaster. 
Oberlin's  predecessor  (M.  Stouber),  a  man  of  like  spirit,  be- 
gan his  efforts  to  improve  the  parish  by  inquiring  into  the 
state  of  instruction.  Asking  for  the  school,  he  was  con- 
ducted to  a  miserable  hovel,  where  there  were  a  number 
of  children  crowded  together,  without  occupation,  and  in  so 
wild  and  noisy  a  state,  that  it  was  with  some  difficulty  he 
could  gain  a  reply  to  his  inquiries  for  the  master.  "  There 
he  is,"  said  one  of  them,  as  soon  as  silence  could  be  ob- 
tained, pointing  to  a  withered  old  man,  who  lay  on  a  little 
bed  in  one  corner  of  the  apartment.  "  Are  you  the  school- 
master, my  good  friend  ?"  inquired  Stouber.  "  Yes,  sir." 
"  And  what  do  you  teach  the  children  ?"  "  Nothing,  sir." 
"Nothing!  How  is  that?"  "  Because,"  replied  the  old  man, 
with  characteristic  simplicity,  "  I  know  nothing  myself." 
"  Why,  then,  were  you  instituted  schoolmaster  ?"  "  Why, 
sir,  I  had  been  taking  care  of  the  Waldbach  pigs  for  a  great 

both.  Even  household  management  had  reaped  its  advantage  when 
the  first  vanity  and  presumption  arising  out  of  the  partial  nature  ot 
instruction  had  worn  off— when  it  had  become  general,  sound,  and 
appropriate  ;  the  servant,  especially  the  female  servant,  was  not  less 
faithful,  and  had  become  far  more  useful  than  before."  It  may  not 
be  improper  to  add,  that  the  education  of  Prussia  fits  its  subjects  for 
the  government  under  which  they  live,  but  wants  that  spirit  of  free- 
dom and  self-reliance  which  would  qualify  them  for  a  government 
like  ours.  The  depreciating  accounts  which  some  recent  travellers, 
such  as  Laing,  have  given  of  the  state  of  morals  in  Prussia,  is  de- 
clared, by  those  who  have  had  the  best  opportunities  and  the 
strongest  disposition  to  judge  impartially,  to  be  without  foundation. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  138 

number  of  years,  and  when  I  got  too  old  and  infirm  for  that 
employment,  they  sent  me  here  to  take  care  of  the  chil- 
dren !" 

Under  the  superintendence  of  these  wise  and  faithful 
men,  good  schools  were  established ;  a  liberal  course  of 
instruction  was  instituted ;  religious  influence  was  carefully 
and  constantly  applied  ;  and  the  industry  and  enterprise  of 
the  inhabitants  fostered  by  the  presence,  counsel,  and  ex- 
ample of  their  pastor.  The  results  were  delightful,  and,  to 
most  persons,  amazing.  In  spite  of  all  the  physical  disad 
vantages  of  their  position,  they  became  prosperous.  Their 
manners  were  refined,  their  tastes  elevated,  population  rap- 
idly increased,  concord  reigned  among  them,  and  they  were 
alike  intelligent  and  contented.  Now  the  results  produced 
in  this  humble  district,  by  a  wise  system  of  education,  have 
always  followed,  in  other  places,  just  in  proportion  as  such  a 
system  has  been  introduced.  Take  the  countries,  in  which 
the  instruction  of  the  people  has  made  most  progress  during 
the  last  century,  and  it  will  be  found  that  they  are  the  very 
countries,  in  which  the  social  and  political  condition  of  the 
inhabitants  has  most  improved.  The  average  length  of  hu- 
man life  has  materially  increased  ;  there  has  been  a  great 
advance  in  the  wealth  and  comfort  of  all  classes ;  while,  at 
the  same  time,  crime,  mendicity,  riots,  and  political  tumults 
have  greatly  diminished.  Indeed,  so  powerful  is  education, 
as  a  means  of  national  improvement,  that,  to  borrow  the 
language  of  a  late  writer,  who  has  made  an  extended  sur- 
vey, of  the  relative  state  of  instruction  and  social  welfare, 
in  the  leading  nations  of  the  world,  "  if  the  different  coun- 
tries of  the  world  be  arranged  according  to  the  state  of  edu 
cation,  they  will  also  be  found  to  be  arranged,  with  few  ex- 
ceptions, according  to  wealth,  morals,  and  general  happiness  : 
and  not  only  does  this  rule  hold  good,  as  respects  a  country 
taken  as  a  whole,  but  it  will  generally  apply  to  the  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  same  country.  Thus,  in  England,  educa- 

M 


134  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

tion  is  in  the  best  state  in  the  northern  agricultural  district, 
and  in  the  worst  state  in  the  southern  agricultural  district, 
and  the  agricultural  parts  of  the  midland  district ;  while  in 
the  great  towns  and  other  manufacturing  places,  education  is 
in  an  intermediate  state  ;  at  the  same  time,  the  condition  of 
the  people,  and  the  extent  of  crime  and  violence  among  them, 
follow  a  like  order."* 

I  cannot  refrain  from  placing  on  record  one  fact,  as  a 
farther  confirmation  of  the  latter  part  of  this  statement.  It 
is  derived  from  a  chart,  published  a  few  years  since  in 
England,  by  Joseph  Bentley,  which  professes  to  exhibit  the 
moral  condition,  of  the  different  counties  of  England,  as 
compared  with  their  means  of  education.  In  parallel  col- 
umns, are  placed  the  population,  number  of  schools,  number 
of  libraries,  number  of  literary  and  scientific  institutions, 
number  of  places  for  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors,  and, 
lastly,  the  number  of  criminal  convictions  within  the  year. 
I  am  well  aware  that  the  number  of  schools  in  a  country  is 
not  a  certain  criterion  of  the  proportion  of  the  children  un- 
der instruction,  nor  of  the  degree  and  quality  of  such  in- 
struction. Still,  it  affords  an  approximation  to  the  real 
state  of  education,  and  the  best  returns  on  this  subject, 
considered  as  tests,  are  but  approximations.  The  result  to 
which  I  have  referred,  as  gathered  from  these  returns,  is 
most  striking  ;  it  is  this  :  If  you  take  the  four  best  instruct- 
ed counties  of  England,  as  exhibited  on  this  chart,  and  also 
the  four  worst  instructed,  it  will  be  found  that  the  average 
amount  of  crime  is  almost  exactly  in  the  INVERSE  ratio  of  the 
average  amount  of  instruction.^ 

*  See  National  Education,  its  Present  State  and  Prospects,  by 
Fred.  Hill,  in  2  vols.,  London,  1836. 

t  The  four  best  instructed  counties  in  England,  according  to  this 
table,  are : 

Inhabitants.  Inhabitants. 

Rutland,  having  1  school  to  every  625,  and  1  crim'l.  conviction  per  ann.  to  every  718 
Westminster,  "  "  P96,  "  «  "  n-jfll 

Cumberland,         "  "  736,  "  «  «  1101 

Middlesex,  "  «'  747,  "  «  «  415 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  135 

But,  it  may  be  asked,  what  charm  is  there  about  reading 
and  writing,  that  these  should  forthwith  banish  the  propensi- 
ties to  crime  and  vice  ?  "  I  am  simple  enough,"  says  a  late 
writer,  "  to  believe  that  a  man  may  be  utterly  ignorant  of  A 
B  C,  and  yet  be  not  given  to  cutting  throats ;  and  wholly  un- 
skilled in  the  art  of  penmanship,  and  still  have  no  bias  in  fa- 
vour of  burglary.  Nay,  it  is  my  deliberate  opinion — mad  as 
it  may  appear  in  these  days  of  societies  for  the  diffusion  of 
horn-books  and  propagation  of  primers — that  Mavor  is  no 
preventive  to  murder,  nor  Vyse  any  corrective  of  vice.  And 
I  cannot,  by  any  course  of  reasoning,  bring  myself  to  per- 
ceive that  an  inability  to  read  must  be  generally  accompani- 
ed with  a  like  inability  to  distinguish  between  right  and 
wrong,  as  if  the  question  of  meum  and  tuum  had  more  to  do 
with  Lindley  Murray  than  morals."* 

Or  an  average  of 

One  school  to  every  701  inhabitants,  and  one  criminal  conviction  to  1108  inhabitant*. 
The  four  worst  instructed  counties  are  : 

Inhabitant*.  Inhabitants. 

Northampton,  1  school  to  every  1757,  and  1  crim'l.  conviction  per  ann.  to  every  601 

Dorset.  "  "  1435,  "  "  "  610 

Somerset,  "  "  1427,  "  "  "  393 

Hereford,  "  "  1386,  "  "  "  596 

Or  an  average  of 

One  school  to  every  1501  inhabitants,  and  one  criminal  conviction  to  550  inhabitants. 

*  This  passage  is  extracted  from  a  work  recently  published  in 
England,  entitled,  What  to  Teach,  and  how  to  Teach  it  so  that  the  Child 
may  become  a  wise  and  good  Man.  By  HENKY  MAYHEW.  Part  I. — 
THE  CULTIVATION  OF  THE  INTELLECT.  It  contains  many  valuable 
suggestions  in  regard  to  the  nature  and  end  of  education,  stated, 
however,  with  somewhat  too  much  of  flippancy,  and  with  an  unne- 
cessary parade  of  metaphysical  learning.  In  his  zeal  to  correct  the 
prevalent  error  of  putting  reading  and  writing  in  place  of  real  edu- 
cation, the  author  gravely  proposes  that  we  should  first  teach  the 
pupil  science,  and  then,  as  the  last  step,  "add  a  knowledge  of  read- 
ing, so  that  he  may  be  able  to  trace  the  history  and  progress  of  it, 
which  is  extremely  curious  and  interesting;  and  of  writing,  so  that 
he  may  be  able  (should  he  have  it  in  his  power,  by  any  new  discov- 
ery, to  increase  the  general  knowledge)  to  give  that  discovery  to 
the  world.  We  must  recollect  that,  educationally,  writing  is  the 
means  of  educating  those  who  are  absent  and  future ;  reading,  the 


136  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

It  seems  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  these  remarks  are 
entirely  irrelevant  to  the  point  now  under  discussion.  We 
have  insisted,  throughout  this  volume,  that  we  mean  by  edu- 
cation much  more  than  the  ability  to  read  and  write.  We 
mean  something,  by  which  the  pupil  shall  be  taught  to  respect 
both  himself  and  others  ;  to  find  pleasure  in  the  cultivation 
of  his  intellectual  powers,  and  to  act  habitually  upon  the  im- 
pulse of  his  higher  sentiments.  Why,  then,  it  may  be  urged, 
do  you  insist  so  much,  in  your  reasoning  and  statistical  sur- 
veys, upon  the  proportion  of  criminals,  &c.,  who  are  unable 
to  read  and  write  1  I  answer,  because,  in  treating  of  the 
state  of  education  in  a  country,  we  must  fix  upon  some  index 
or  exponent.  Nothing  is  more  indefinite  than  the  term  ed- 
ucation, nor  than  the  thing  signified  by  that  term.  It  is  to  be 
presumed,  however,  in  the  present  state  of  the  world,  when 
the  means  of  education  are  so  abundant,  and  when  they  are 
so  easy  of  access  even  to  the  very  poor,  that  children  who 
have  not  been  taught  so  much  as  to  read  and  write,  have 
been  neglected  in  other  respects.  Such  children  will  be 
found,  in  a  large  proportion  of  instances,  to  have  been  train- 
ed to  no  regular  occupation  nor  to  any  habits  of  industry,  and 
to  have  grown  up,  in  truth,  without  instruction  of  any  kind. 
Jn  referring,  then,  so  constantly  to  reading  and  writing,  we 
use  them  merely  as  signs,  not  as  causes,  and  as  negative 
rather  than  as  positive  signs.  In  other  words,  while  we  re- 
gard ignorance,  of  these  simplest  elements  of  knowledge,  as 
proof  that  the  education  of  the  child  has  been  greatly  neg- 
lected, we  do  not  regard  a  knowledge  of  them,  as  proof  that 
that  education  has  been  properly  cared  for.*  In  the  ab- 

means  of  being  educated  by  those  who  are  absent  and  past ;  and 
speaking,  the  means  of  educating  those  who  are  present  !  !" 

*  It  is  evident,  however,  that  comparisons  made  on  this  princi- 
ple bear  unjustly  against  education,  or,  rather,  do  not  bear  with  suf- 
ficient force  in  its  favour ;  since  they  rank,  as  educated,  many,  who, 
though  they  can  read  and  write,  are  yet  destitute  of  the  appropriate 
fruits  of  a  sound  and  thorough  education. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  137 

sence  of  any  other  criterion,  more  definite  and  tangible,  we 
take  the  best  which  offers  itself ;  but  we  would  always  in- 
sist, most  strenuously,  upon  the  necessity  of  aiming,  in  edu- 
cation, at  something  vastly  higher.  It  is  of  education,  in  this 
higher  and  more  real  sense,  that  we  always  speak  through- 
out this  work  ;  we  maintain  that  it  is  a  controlling  power  in 
society  ;  and  we  appeal  to  the  fact  that,  in  improving  and  ex- 
tending the  education  of  a  people,  we  invariably  improve  their 
social  condition,  as  proof  that  this  power  is  benignant,  as 
well  as  great.* 

*  "  It  is  with  grief,"  says  M.  Cousin,  in  his  Report  on  the  State 
of  Education  in  Holland,  "  that  I  contemplate  the  mistaken  zeal,  the 
illogical  reasoning  of  certain  philanthropists,  and  even  of  certain 
governments,  who  bestow  so  much  pains  upon  prisons,  and  neglect 
schools  :  they  allow  crime  to  spring  up,  and  vicious  habits  to  take 
root,  by  the  utter  neglect  of  all  moral  training,  and  of  all  education 
in  children ;  and  when  crime  is  grown,  and  is  strong  and  full  of  life, 
they  attempt  to  cope  with  it ;  they  try  to  subdue  it  with  the  terror 
of  punishment,  or  to  mitigate  it,  in  some  degree,  by  gentleness  and 
kindness.  After  having  exhausted  all  their  resources  both  of  thought 
and  of  money,  they  are  astonished  to  find  that  their  efforts  are  vain ; 
and  why  1  because  all  they  do  is  in  direct  opposition  to  common 
sense.  To  correct  is  very  important,  but  to  prevent  is  far  more  so. 
The  seeds  of  morality  and  piety  must  be  early  sown  in  the  heart  of 
the  child,  in  order  that  they  may  be  found  again,  and  be  made  to 
shoot  forth  in  the  breast  of  the  man  whom  adverse  circumstances 
may  have  brought  under  the  avenging  hand  of  the  law.  To  edu- 
cate the  people,  is  the  necessary  foundation  of  all  good  prison  disci- 
pline. It  is  not  the  purpose  of  a  penitentiary  to  change  monsters 
into  men,  but  to  revive,  in  the  breasts  of  those  who  have  gone  astray, 
the  principles  which  were  taught  and  inculcated  to  them  in  their 
youth,  and  which  they  acknowledged  and  carried  into  practice  in 
former  days,  in  schools  of  their  infancy,  before  passion,  and  wretch- 
edness, and  bad  example,  and  the  evil  chances  of  life,  had  hurried 
them  away  from  the  paths  of  rectitude.  To  correct,  we  must  ex- 
cite remorse  and  awaken  the  voice  of  conscience  ;  but  how  can  we 
recall  a  sound  that  has  never  been  heard  1  How  are  we  to  revive 
a  language  that  had  never  been  taught  1  I  approve  of,  nay,  I  bless 
with  my  whole  heart,-  every  kind  of  penitentiary ;  but  I  conside* 
M2 


138  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

It  is  alleged,  however,  that,  notwithstanding  the  progress 
of  education,  crime  and  immorality  increase.  If  the  present 
be  compared  with  any  distant  era  of  history,  even  the  most 
brilliant,  it  will  be  found  that  the  very  reverse  is  true.  In 
the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  for  instance,  of  which  Hume  boasts 
that  "  learning  had  not  then  prostituted  itself  by  becoming 
too  common,"  England  was  covered  with  gipsies  and  ban- 
ditti, and  every  year,  there  were  from  three  to  four  hundred 
executions  for  capital  crimes.  In  Scotland,  before  the  pa- 
rochial schools  were  established,  and  education  made  univer- 
sal, two  hundred  thousand  vagrants,  according  to  Fletcher 
of  Saltoun,  roamed  over  the  land,  living  by  pillage  and  beg- 
gary, and  having  "  no  regard  or  subjection  either  to  the  laws 
of  the  land,  or  even  to  those  of  God  and  Nature."  What  a 
change  has  since  been  wrought !  and  who  can  doubt  that,  in 
producing  it,  education  has  been  a  most  powerful,  though 
certainly  not  the  only  cause  1  It  is  not  to  be  forgotten,  that 
the  causes  which  affect  social  welfare  are  various,  and  hence 
crime  may  for  awhile  increase,  and  civilization  decline, 
even  though  education  does  advance  ;  not,  however,  because 
education  is  powerless,  but  because  its  influence  is,  for  the 
time,  overborne  or  counteracted  by  other  agencies. 

Is  it  a  truth,  however,  that  crime  and  immorality  do  in- 
crease ?  Let  us  consider  this  question  for  a  moment  with 
regard  to  our  own  state  ;  and  that  we  may  limit  the  inqui- 
ry, let  us  speak  only  of  crime  in  the  technical  or  judicial 
sense.  I  remark,  then, 

First,  That,  so  far  as  our  own  state  is  concerned,  the  re- 
turns of  criminal  convictions,  annually  made  to  the  office  of 
the  secretary  of  state,  show  that  the  increase  of  crimes  of 

that  they  must  forever  remain  almost  fruitless,  unless  their  power 
to  reclaim  is  made  to  rest  upon  the  effect  of  schools  for  the  people 
universally  established,  attendance  upon  which  is  obligatory,  and 
where  instruction  is  considered  as  only  one  of  the  means  of  educa- 
tion." 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  139 

every  description,  within  the  last  ten  years,  is  not  greater 
than  the  increase  of  population,  even  on  the  supposition,  by 
no  means  probable,  that  the  returns  were  as  full  and  com- 
plete, when  first  required,  ten  years  since,  as  they  are  at 
present.* 

Secondly,  This  increase  of  crime  would  have  been  much 
less,  but  for  the  unusual  influx  of  foreigners  within  the  last 
few  years.  Dr.  Julius  states,  as  the  result  of  a  laborious 
examination  of  all  the  principal  prisons  of  the  United  States, 
that  about  one  third  of  the  convicts  are  foreigners.  The  re- 
turns of  this  state  show  that,  with  us,  the  proportion  is  even 
larger,  being  in  some  years  nearly  one  half. 

Thirdly,  Before  this  increase  of  crime  could,  under  any 
circumstances,  be  ascribed  with  plausibility  to  an  increase 
of  education,  for  this  is  gravely  maintained  by  some  per- 
sons, it  would  be  necessary  to  show  that  those  offences 
have  multiplied  fastest  which,  in  their  conception  and  prep- 
aration, require  the  greatest  knowledge  and  forethought. 
The  facts,  however,  are  remarkably  the  reverse.  In  this 
state,  as  appears  by  a  late  annual  report  (for  1840)  of  the 
secretary  of  state  on  criminal  convictions,  the  crimes  of 
forgery,  perjury,  burglary,  &c.,  which  imply  skill  and 
knowledge,  have  been  diminishing,  while  those  which  are 
the  usual  concomitants  of  ignorance  and  mental  debase- 
ment have  increased.  To  the  same  effect  is  the  experi- 
ence of  other  states.  Says  the  chaplain  of  the  Connecticut 
State  Prison,  in  a  late  report,  "  that  knowledge  is  not  very 
frequently  used  as  an  instrument  in  the  commission  of  crime, 
may  be  presumed  from  the  fact  that,  of  the  66  committed  to 
this  prison  last  year,  the  crimes  of  only  four  were  of  such 

*  It  ought  to  be  considered,  also,  that  in  proportion  as  the  detec- 
tion and  punishment  of  offences  is  facilitated  by  an  improved  police, 
and  by  a  better  state  of  public  morals,  in  that  proportion  criminal 
arrests  and  convictions  may  become  more  numerous,  though  crime 
itself  is  decreasing. 


140  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

a  nature  as  to  require  for  their  commission  ability  either  to 
read  or  write."  The  directors  of  the  Ohio  Penitentiary 
state  that  "  it  is,  an  erroneous  impression  that  the  convicts 
are  intelligent,  shrewd  men,  whose  .minds  have  been  per- 
verted to  vice,  rather  than  blunderers  into  low  and  vicious 
habits,  and  ultimately  into  the  commission  of  crime,  from 
idleness,  ignorance,  and  opacity  of  mental  vision.  It  will 
be  seen  that  nearly  the  whole  number  of  convicts  are  be- 
low mediocrity  in  point  of  information  ;  and,  indeed,  our  in- 
quiries and  observations  have  long  since  fully  satisfied  us 
that,  not  only  in  our  own  prison,  but  in  others  which  we 
have  visited  or  inquired  after,  depraved  appetites  and  cor- 
rupt habits,  which  have  led  to  the  commission  of  crime, 
are  usually  found  with  the  ignorant,  uninformed,  and  duller 
part  of  mankind.  Of  the  276,  nearly  all  below  mediocri- 
try.  175  are  grossly  ignorant,  and  in  point  of  education 
scarcely  capable  of  transacting  the  ordinary  business  of 
life."  Is  it  not  a  question  for  grave  reflection,  how  far  so- 
ciety, after  thus  suffering  individuals  to  grow  up  in  igno- 
lance  and  incapacity,  retains,  in  respect  to  them,- the  right 
of  inflicting  punishment?* 

Fourthly,  To  show,  however,  still  more  clearly  that  edu- 
cation, instead  of  being  responsible  for  any  portion  of  this 
increase  of  crime,  is  directly  and  greatly  calculated  to  ar- 

*  It  has  been  said,  that,  though  ignorance  and  want  of  education 
are  concomitants  of  crime,  they  are  not  the  causes  of  it,  but  are  only 
effects,  conjointly  with  crime,  of  some  other  cause  or  causes,  such 
as  poverty.  I  reply  that,  though  the  proximate  cause  of  some  crimes 
is  poverty,  the  ultimate  cause,  even  in  such  cases,  is  generally  the 
want  of  a  good  education.  Poverty  itself,  as  we  have  already  shown, 
may,  in  most  instances,  be  attributed,  in  this  country,  to  a  neglect- 
ed or  erroneous  education ;  and,  moreover,  it  is  not  true,  that  our 
criminals  are  generally  from  among  the  suffering  poor.  Their  crimes 
have,  in  most  cases,  resulted  from  idleness  and  vice  ;  and  thcjtee,  as 
all  know,  are  the  oflect  usually  of  bad  training  in  childhood  and 
youth. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  141 

rest  it,  I  would  place  in  juxtaposition,  and  ask  attention 
to  two  facts,  which  seem  to  me  alike  conclusive  and  stri- 
king. 

I.  It  appears  by  the  late  census,  that  there  are  but  43,000 
white  adults  in  this  state,  who  are  unable  to  read  and  write. 
If  to  this  number,  we  add  one  half  of  the  whole  coloured 
population  of  the  state  as  suffering  from  a  like  inability, 
and  make  a  large  allowance  for  children  old  enough  to 
commit  crime,  yet  without  education,  we  shall  get  a  total 
of  about  83,000  ;  i.  e.,  about  aVth  of  the  whole  population  of 
the  state,  who  cannot  read  and  write.     If,  then,  education 
has  no  tendency  to  diminish  crime,  so  that  a  person,  after 
having  enjoyed  its  advantages,  is  as  likely  to  commit  crime 
as  the  ignorant,  we  should  expect,  on  examining  the  records 
of  our  courts  and  prisons,  to  find  the  same  proportion  be- 
tween the  instructed  and  uninstructed  among  the  convicts, 
as  among  the  whole  population.     In  other  words,  we  should 
expect  to  find  28  convicts  able  to  read  and  write  to  every 
one  unable  to  do  so.     Now  what  is  the  fact  ? 

II.  If  we  take  the  whole  number  of  convictions  in  this 
state  for  the  last  two  years,  in  courts  of  record  and  at  spe- 
cial sessions,  we  find  not  1  in  29  who  is  unable  to  read, 
but  1  in  2  ;  showing  that  the  tendency  to  crime  among  the 
ignorant  is  fourteen  and  a  half  times  greater  than  it  ought 
to  be,  on  the  supposition  that  education  has  no  tendency  to 
diminish  crime.     An  examination  of  the  Auburn  prison, 
made  something  more  than  a  year  ago,  gave,  out  of  244 
prisoners,  but  59  who  could  read  well,  and  but  39  who 
could  read  and  write. 

In  the  New  Penitentiary  of  Philadelphia,  out  of  217  pris- 
oners received  during  the  year  1835,  but  85  could  read  and 
write,  and  most  of  these  could  do  either  the  one  or  the 
other  in  but  a  very  imperfect  manner.  Facts  of  this  kind 
might  be  adduced  to  almost  any  extent.  By  showing  that 
the  proportion  of  uneducated  convicts  is  much  greater  than 


142  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

that  of  uneducated  inhabitants,  they  seem  to  me  to  demon- 
strate that  ignorance  is  one  of  the  great  highways  to  crime, 
and  that,  in  proportion  as  men  are  left  without  instruction,  in 
that  proportion  they  are  likely  to  become  convicts. 

In  dismissing  this  subject,  I  ought,  perhaps,  to  refer  to  a 
statement,  made  a  few  years  since  by  a  distinguished  French 
writer  (M.  Guerry),  which  seems  to  militate  seriously  against 
the  views  here  taken,  and  which  is  frequently  adduced,  as 
proof  that  education  is  powerless  in  preventing,  if  it  be  not 
efficient  in  producing  crime.  It  was  alleged  by  M.  Guerry, 
after  an  elaborate  survey  of  the  "  moral  statistics"  of  France, 
that  there  was  more  crime  in  the  best  instructed  than  in  the 
worst  instructed  provinces  of  the  kingdom.  Admitting  the 
fact  to  be  as  stated,  and  admitting,  also,  that  education  was 
the  cause  of  this  increase  of  crime,  it  must  be  obvious  to 
every  one  bestowing  a  moment's  reflection  on  the  subjec'., 
that  the  true  explanation  is  to  be  found  in  the  absence,  m- 
til  recently,  from  French  systems  of  instruction,  of  a  moral 
and  religious  spirit. 

It  has  been  ascertained,  however,  on  a  more  thorough  ex- 
amination, that  it  did  not  hold,  as  a  general  fact,  that  crime 
was  more  prevalent  in  the  better  instructed  provinces  ;  and, 
moreover,  that,  if  such  were  the  fact,  it  was  susceptible  of 
demonstration  that  education  was  not  to  be  held  responsible 
for  it.  From  a  paper  read  a  few  years  since  before  the  Sta- 
tistical Society  of  London,  by  G.  R.  Porter,  Esq.,  it  appears 
that  the  conclusions  of  M.  Guerry  were  based  upon  the  re- 
turns of  a  single  year,  whereas  five  years  taken  in  succession 
would  furnish  a  result  entirely  different.  The  returns  for 
the  five  years  ending  1833  show,  that  the  annual  average 
number  of  criminals  was  nearly  ten  per  cent,  greater  in  the 
least  instructed,  than  it  was  in  the  most  instructed  depart- 
ments;  and  it  so  happens  that  the  year  (1831)  taken  by 
M.  Guerry  for  examination,  was  the  only  one  of  the  five, 
in  which  the  excess  of  criminals  was  not  arranged  on  the 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER. 


143 


side  of  the  least  instructed  departments.  It  is  farther  to  be 
considered — and  this,  indeed,  is  the  all-essential  point — that 
an  excess  of  crime,  in  the  best  instructed  provinces  in  1831, 
proves  nothing  against  education,  unless  it  can  be  shown, 
that  the  criminals  themselves  were  educated.  But  it  turns 
out,  on  examination,  that  f  ths  of  the  whole  number  were  un- 
able to  read  and  write  well,  and  that  the  proportion  of  igno- 
rant criminals,  as  compared  with  the  whole  number  of  unin- 
structed  inhabitants,  was  even  greater  in  the  more  enlighten- 
ed provinces  than  elsewhere.  The  reason  for  the  latter 
fact  probably  is,  that  where  education  is  pretty  generally 
imparted,  the  wholly  ignorant  find  themselves  more  embar- 
rassed in  obtaining  employment,  and  hence  are  more  likely 
to  betake  themselves  to  lawless  courses.* 

*  It  is  usual  now,  in  the  criminal  statistics  of  France  and  England, 
to  divide  the  persons  accused  or  convicted  into  four  classes,  as  it 
respects  their  education.  The  1st  class  is  composed  of  those  who 
are  unable  to  read  and  write.  2.  Able  to  read  and  write  imperfect- 
ly. 3.  Able  to  read  and  write  well.  4.  Superiorly  instructed.  In 
France,  during  seven  years,  the  proportion  borne  by  the  well  edu- 
cated to  the  other  three  classes  of  the  accused  was,  on  an  average, 
227  to  9773.  In  Scotland  and  England,  where  the  proportionate 
number  of  well-educated  persons  must  he  much  greater  than  it  is  in 
France,  the  proportion  of  the  accused  of  that  character  was  (in 
1836)  considerably  less.  In  Scotland  it  was  but  188  to  9812,  while 
in  England  it  was  no  more  than  91  to  9909.  The  following  table  is 
worthy  of  inspection : 


» 

jr.ngiana  ana  waies. 
o.  accused.^611'65'!11*' 

acoriana. 
No.  accused.  _.  en  e 

Unable  to  read  and  write    .... 

7,033 

33.52 

539 

18.45 

Able  to  read  and  write  imperfectly  . 

10.983 

52.33 

1427 

48.84 

Able  to  read  and  write  well    .     .     . 

2,215 

10.56 

489 

16.73 

Superiorly  instructed      
Degree  of  instruction  not  ascertained 

191 
562 

0.91 
2.68 

55 
412 

1.88 
14.10 

20,984 

100.00 

2922 

100.00 

Of  the  55  educated  persons,  accused  in  Scotland,  41  were  convict- 
ed, viz. :  15  for  common  assaults,  15  for  simple  thefts,  2  for  frauds,  3 
for  forgery,  1  for  subornation  of  perjury,  2  for  house  breaking,  1  for  a 
nameless  offence,  2  for  other  slight  offences.  It  is  obvious  that  in- 
temperance must  have  occasioned  a  large  proportion  of  these 


144  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

We  have  thus  shown  that  education,  even  in  its  present 
state,  though  so  imperfect,  so  wanting  in  a  lofty  moral  aim, 
and  so  destitute  of  a  truly  intellectual  spirit,  still  does  much 
to  diminish  crime,  and  to  promote  the  social  well-being  of 
communities  and  nations.  How  much  more  would  this  be 
the  case,  if  all  young  persons  enjoyed  such  training  and  in- 
struction as  might  be  bestowed,  and  such  as  we  are  bound 
to  claim  and  struggle  after  in  their  behalf. 

Throughout  this  and  th'e  preceding  section,  I  have  assumed 
that  the  education  of  a  whole  people  is  practicable.  It  would 
be  worse  than  mockery,  to  unfold  and  dwell  on  the  vast  impor- 
tance of  the  education  of  the  masses,  if  it  be  a  blessing  be- 
yond their  reach,  or  beyond  the  reach  of  most  of  them.  That 
a  good  moral  and  industrial  training  might  be  enjoyed  by 
all,  in  a  well-ordered  state  of  society,  will  probably  be  ad- 
mitted ;  but  it  is  not  so  generally  conceded,  that  we  can  be- 
stow on  all,  knowledge,  and  the  blessings  of  an  active,  culti- 
vated mind.  It  must  not  be  forgotten,  says  De  Tocqueville, 
that  a  great  majority,  in  every  civilized  country,  must  spend 
their  lives  in  manual  labour  ;  and  that,  in  their  case,  no  high 
degree  of  culture  can  be  expected.  It  seems  to  me,  how- 
ever, that  this  remark  is  founded  on  a  great,  though  very 
prevalent  misconception  in  regard  to  the  nature  and  effects 
of  manual  labour.  It  was  for  ages  supposed  that  its  tenden- 

crimes ;  for  example,  the  assaults.    The  punishments  awarded  were 
as  follows : 

Tried  and  discharged     .':-»        ;    .  •/      't    -  .-      11 

Imprisoned  one  month  and  under        .        .       :•*.,. \,     8 

above  1  and  not  exceeding  2  months          8 

"  "3  "         "  6      "      .  5 

"  «      s  "         "  12       " 

Outlawed    . 

Transported  for  7  years 

"  14  years 

"  life 


Total  41 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  145 

cy  and  effect  must  be,  to  deaden  and  debase  the  powers  of 
the  soul.  The  rudeness  and  ignorance  which  abounded 
among  the  working-classes,  and  which  ought  to  have  been 
ascribed  to  the  neglect  or  oppression  of  their  superiors, 
were,  by  a  strange  perversion,  attributed  to  their  occupa- 
tions ;  and  this,  too,  in  the  face  of  the  undeniable  fact, 
that  those  classes  were,  over  all  Europe,  forcing  their  way 
upward  in  the  scale  of  intelligence  and  political  power,  in 
spite  of  the  most  strenuous  and  formidable  opposition ;  and 
in  face,  too,  of  the  fact,  now  so  obvious,  that  they  owed  their 
increasing  intelligence  and  consideration,  in  a  great  measure, 
to  their  industry.  It  has  been  assumed,  also,  that  a  labour- 
ing man  has  no  time  for  mental  culture,  and  that  it  is  pre- 
posterous to  expect,  that  reading  and  thinking  beings  can  be 
made  out  of  those  whose  lives  are  doomed  to  unceasing 
toil. 

The  answer  to  these  objections  is,  first,  that  labour  has 
no  tendency,  to  debase  and  deaden  the  intellect.  To  think 
so,  is  to  impeach  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of  that  Being 
who  has  made  labour  our  great  duty.  It  is  to  overlook  the 
fact,  that  no  labour  is  so  humble  or  so  circumscribed,  but 
that  knowledge  and  mental  culture  will  assist  the  workman 
to  perform  it  cheerfully,  and  will  also  enable  him  to  make 
it  more  productive  to  himself,  and  more  useful  to  others. 
It  is  to  forget,  too,  that  no  one  is  condemned  by  Providence 
to  one  dull  round  of  toil ;  that  it  is  the  right  and  duty  of 
every  one  to  seek,  if  he  be  duly  qualified,  a  less  laborious 
or  a  more  intellectual  employment,  and  that  it  is  education 
alone  which  can  thus  prepare  him,  to  vary  his  condition. 
If  the  labouring  population  were  educated,  as  thoroughly  as 
their  situation  admits,  and  were  made  provident,  we  should 
no  longer  hear  of  multitudes  being  obliged  to  spend  their 
whole  lives  in  heading  nails,  or  pointing  pins.  It  is  also 
worthy  of  consideration,  that  most  kinds  of  manual  labour 
require  some  degree  of  thought  and  intelligence,  thus  con- 

N 


146  THE    SCHOOL   AND 

tributing  to  improve  the  mind  ;  and  that  there  are  many 
moments,  even  when  most  busy,  that  the  workman  can  de- 
vote his  mind  to  reflection  on  the  contents  of  the  books  he 
has  read,  or  to  those  excursions  of  a  healthy  and  well-reg- 
ulated imagination,  which  tend  to  strengthen  the  under- 
standing and  to  improve  the  heart. 

But,  secondly,  is  it  true  that  a  life  of  labour  affords  no 
time  for  reading  and  self-culture  ?  I  can  hardly  conceive 
of  any  occupation  so  incess'ant  or  toilsome  that  it  would  not 
afford  two  or  three  hours  in  a  week,  besides  many  "  odd 
ends  of  time,"  to  be  appropriated  to  books  and  lectures. 
Add  to  these,  the  time  which  God  has  especially  conse- 
crated to  the  improvement  of  the  mind  in  knowledge  as 
well  as  virtue — the  Christian  Sabbath.  Add,  also,  the  op- 
portunities for  improving  thought,  and  for  instructive  con- 
versation, which  the  labourer  has  when  at  work,*  and  it 
becomes  evident,  that  no  inconsiderable  part  of  the  time  of 
the  most  industrious  may  be  spent  in  gaining  knowledge 
and  wisdom.  It  can  be  deemed  no  exaggeration,  if  we 
maintain  that,  in  addition  to  days  of  sacred  rest,  which  form 
one  seventh  part  of  life,  there  are  other  seasons  of  leisure 
which  may  be  given  to  mental  culture,  sufficient  to  form, 

*  "  Where  workmen  are  employed  in  the  same  apartment,  and 
there  is  nothing  noisy  in  the  work,  one  may  always  read  while  the 
others  are  employed.  If  there  are  twenty-four  men  together,  this 
arrangement  would  only  require  each  man  to  make  one  extra  day 
in  four  weeks,  supposing  the  reading  to  go  on  the  whole  day,  which 
it  would  not ;  but  a  boy  or  a  girl  might  be  engaged  to  perform  the 
task  at  an  expense  so  trifling  as  not  to  be  felt.  This  expedient,  too, 
it  may  be  observed,  would  save  money  as  well  as  time  ;  one  copy 
of  a  book,  and  that  borrowed  for  the  purpose,  or  obtained  from  a 
reading  society  or  circulating  library,  would  suffice  for  a  number  of 
persons.  I  may  add,  that  great  help  would  be  given  by  the  better- 
informed  and  more  apt  learners  to  such  as  are  slower  of  apprehen- 
sion and  more  ignorant ;  and  discussion  (under  proper  regulations) 
would  be  of  singular  use  to  all,  even  the  most  forward  proficients." 
— LORD  BCOVOHAH. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  147 

with  those  days,  a  portion  of  life  not  less  than  one  sixth, 
and  in  many  cases,  not  less  than  one  fourth  of  the  whole. 
"  I  begin,"  says  Lord  Brougham,  at  the  opening  of  a 
pamphlet,  published  several  years  since,  on  Popular  Edu- 
cation, "  by  assuming  that  there  is  no  class  of  the  commu- 
nity so  entirely  occupied  with  labour  as  not  to  have  an 
hour  or  two,  every  other  day  at  least,  to  bestow  upon  the 
pleasure  and  improvement  to  be  derived  from  reading,  or 
so  poor  as  not  to  have  the  means  of  contributing  something 
towards  purchasing  this  gratification ;  the  enjoyment  of 
which,  besides  the  present  amusement,  is  the  surest  way 
both  to  raise  our  character  and  better  our  condition." 

CONCLUSION. 

I  have  thus  dwelt  at  great  length  upon  the  nature,  objects, 
and  uses  of  Education.  It  may  be  thought,  that  on  these 
subjects,  so  protracted  a  discussion  was  unnecessary,  since 
they  are  already  well  understood,  and  thoroughly  appreci- 
ated, in  this  country.  But  is  it  so  1  Our  people  have  ab- 
solute control  over  the  whole  subject  of  education,  not  only 
as  it  respects  their  own  families,  but,  to  a  great  extent,  in 
schools  and  seminaries  of  learning.  If,  then,  the  people 
were  fully  awake,  to  its  importance  and  true  nature,  we 
should  soon  have  a  perfect  system,  and  we  should  witness 
results  from  it,  for  which  we  now  look  in  vain. 

Here,  in  truth,  is  the  great  desideratum.  We  all  com- 
plain that  our  schools  are  defective,  our  teachers  imperfect- 
ly qualified,  and  the  training  which  our  children  receive, 
both  at  home  and  at  school,  wanting,  in  some  of  the  first 
elements  of  a  good  education.  Why  is  this  ?  Why  do  not 
the  people  demand,  and  compel  an  immediate  change  1 
Why  are  so  many  instructors  allowed  to  occupy  places  for 
which  they  are  incompetent,  and  to  return  our  children  to 
us,  after  months,  or  even  years,  of  attendance  at  school, 
without  any  generous  improvement  in  mind  or  manners ? 


148  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

Why  is  it  so  difficult  to  gain  a  liberal  and  prompt  support 
for  efforts  that  are  made  to  extend,  and,  above  all,  to  per- 
fect education  ?  And  why  are  these  efforts,  when  they  are 
sustained,  so  often  leavened  by  a  sordid  spirit,  or  by  a  total 
misconception  of  what  education  ought  to  do  for  youth  ?  Is 
it  not  because,  as  a  people,  we  do  not,  after  all,  appreciate 
as  we  ought  the  inestimable  importance  of  "  a  right  virtuous 
and  noble  education  ?"  Is  it  not  because,  we  misapprehend 
the  ends  to  be  answered  by  it,  as  well  as  the  best  means  for 
attaining  those  ends  1  How  few  of  us  look  upon  education, 
as  that  which  is  to  rear  our  children  to  high  mental  and 
moral  excellence,  and  inspire  them  with  an  ambition  above 
this  world ;  an  ambition  to  perform,  with  unfailing  and  un- 
faltering fidelity,  the  humblest  as  well  as  the  most  exalted 
duties !  How  few  of  us  rank  such  an  education,  higher  in 
our  esteem,  than  all  worldly  wealth  or  distinction,  and  feel 
that,  in  bestowing  it,  we  give  to  our  children  the  richest  in- 
heritance, the  noblest  and  most  enviable  patrimony !  How 
few  apprehend,  clearly,  the  uses  to  which  a  good  education 
ought  to  be  applied,  or  entertain  views,  sufficiently  large 
and  liberal,  of  the  spirit  of  self-culture  which  it  ought  to  in- 
spire and  cherish ! 

I  cannot,  in  closing  this  chapter,  do  better,  perhaps,  than 
recapitulate  the  leading  principles  which  I  have  developed, 
and  ask  the  reader,  as  he  reviews  them,  to  inquire  how  far 
they  have  hitherto  been  appreciated,  and  acted  upon  by  him- 
self. Let  him  consider,  that  our  efforts  to  train  up  our  chil- 
dren in  the  way  that  they  should  go  must  be  misdirected, 
and,  therefore,  be  in  part  or  wholly  fruitless,  unless  we  un- 
derstand well  the  end  and  object  of  education.  Let  him 
consider,  too,  that  errors  on  this  subject  are  exceedingly 
prevalent,  and  that,  even  when  they  do  not  infect  our  own 
minds,  they  are  very  apt  to  reach  and  taint  our  children, 
and  that  special  efforts  are  needed,  not  only  to  guard  those 
children,  but  also  to  enlighten  and  correct  public  opinion, 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  149 

and  thus  to  secure,  in  behalf  of  the  real  welfare  of  the  rising 
generation,  the  talent  and  strength  which  are  now  wasted  in 
efforts  that  are  either  idle  or  pernicious.  Let  him  consider, 
finally,  whether  he  is  fully  sensible,  to  what  a  vast  and  im- 
measurable extent,  his  own  welfare,  the  happiness  of  his  chil- 
dren, and  the  honour  and  interests  of  his  country,  are  iden- 
tified with  the  success  of  judicious  efforts  to  improve  our 
systems  of  training  and  instruction,  and  to  make  their  influ- 
ence coextensive  with  our  land.  If  he  cannot  but  feel,  that 
on  some  of  these  subjects,  his  convictions  have  hitherto 
wanted  clearness  and  force,  he  will  then  perceive  the  need 
there  is,  for  a  renewed  and  thorough  discussion  of  those 
subjects,  from  time  to  time.  I  will  not  conceal  my  own 
settled  conviction,  that  we  shall  never  have  the  education 
we  need  in  this  country,  till  the  people  are  roused  to  a  more 
adequate  sense  of  its  importance,  and  have  a  clearer  per- 
ception of  its  true  nature,  objects,  and  uses. 

SUMMARY    OF    PRINCIPLES    IN    CHAP.  I. 
SEC.  I.   WHAT    IS    EDUCATION  1 

Education  is  the  due  development,  of  all  the  primitive 
powers,  and  susceptibilities  of  our  nature. 

It  is  peculiarly  necessary  in  youth,  because  then  this  na- 
ture is  most  plastic,  and  impressions  made  upon  it  are  most 
lasting. 

It  does  not  obliterate  all  original  differences  in  charac- 
ter or  inequalities  in  talent,  but  aims  to  modify  and  improve. 

Its  object,  is  rather  to  form  a  perfect  character,  than  to 
qualify  for  any  particular  station  or  office. 

Man  needs  it  the  more,  because  he  has  few  instincts,  and 
because  he  is  endowed  with  unbounded  capabilities  of  im- 
provement. 

Intellectual  Education  should  aim,  to  make  its  subject,  a 
successful  learner,  and  teacher  of  truth. 


150  THE    SCHOOL   AND 

Moral  Education,  to  harmonize  the  contending  impulses 
of  our  nature,  and  subject  all  to  conscience  and  the  moral 
law. 

jEsthetical  Education,  to  refine  the  taste,  regulate  and 
exalt  the  imagination,  and  render  both  subservient,  to  ener- 
gy of  action,  and  purity  of  purpose. 

Physical  Education,  to  perfect  the  delicacy  of  the  sen- 
ses, establish  vigorous  health,  and  form  habits  and  impart 
knowledge  calculated  to  preserve  that  health. 

SEC.  II.  PREVAILING  ERRORS  IN  REGARD  TO  EDUCATION. 

To  correct  these,  and  form  clear  notions  of  the  nature 
and  end  of  education,  is  the  first  and  most  essential  step  to- 
wards improvement. 

These  errors  are : 

1.  The  notion,  that  education  is  comprehended  in  certain 
scholastic  acquirements. 

2.  That  it  consists  in  knowledge. 

3.  Cultivating  the  intellect  to  the  neglect  of  the  heart, 
or  the  heart  to  the  neglect  of  the  intellect. 

4.  Overlooking  the  necessity  of  good  example,  and  the 
power  of  bad. 

5.  Overlooking  the  proper  culture  of  taste  and  imagina- 
tion. 

6.  Disregarding  the  danger  of  a  premature  development 
of  intellect,  at  the  expense  of  health. 

7.  Forgetting,  how  manifold  are  the  causes,  which  tend 
to  form  character,  or  give  "  heart  to  a  nation." 

8.  Not  adapting  itself,  sufficiently,  to  the  different  char- 
acters and  circumstances  of  children,  nor  to  peculiarities 
of  age  and  sex. 

9.  Making  a  too  free  use  of  stimulants. 

10.  Not  attaching  sufficient  importance,  to  intellectual 
and  moral  character,  and  too  much  to  success. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  151 

11.  In  not  having  sufficient  reference  to  the  future  pur- 
suits and  condition  of  children. 

SEC.  V.    THE    EDUCATION    NEEDED    BY    THE    AMERICAN    PEOPLK. 

1.  Moral  and  religious,  as  a  means  of  cultivating  habits 
of  self-control,  and  of  obedience  to  lawful  authority. 

2.  Thorough  intellectual  culture,  in  order  to  promote  hab- 
its of  inquiry,  and  of  deliberating  before  we  act ;  and  also  to 
render  us  more  tolerant  of  opinions  differing  from  our  own. 

3.  Industrial  training,  as  a  security  against  the  tempta- 
tions of  idleness,  as  affording  useful  discipline  to  the  mind 
and  feelings,  as  promoting  habits  of  order  and  regular- 
ity, as  favourable  to  health,  and  as  a  pledge  of  interest  in 
the  common  welfare. 

4.  A  more  elegant  and  humanizing  culture,  as,  1.  A  se- 
curity against  sensual  indulgence.    2.  A  resource  in  leisure. 
3.  An  innocent  and  healthy  source  of  enjoyment.     4.  Im- 
proving manners.     5.  Strengthening  virtuous  principles  and 
feelings* 

The  education  now  bestowed  on  the  mass  of  the  Ameri- 
can people  does  not  answer  this  description. 
....  i ' ' 

SEC.  VI.    IMPORTANCE    OF    EDUCATION. 

$  ":-"\ 

I.   To  the  Individual. 
~* 
Education  of  some  kind  is  unavoidable.   We  must  choose, 

therefore,  between  the  casual  education  of  circumstances, 
which  is  bad,  and  the  formal  tuition  of  teachers  and  parents, 
which  may,  and  should  be,  good. 

1 .  The  uneducated  are  sensual;  and,  therefore,  selfish  and 
cruel. 

2.  They  are  the  victims  of  groundless  hopes  and  fears  ; 
therefore  credulous,  superstitious,  and  unhappy. 

3.  They  are  prejudiced ;  therefore  averse  to  new  truths, 
and  unable  to  appreciate  them. 


152  THE    SCHOOL   AND 

4.  They  are  deprived  of  the  personal  and  domestic  re- 
sources enjoyed  by  all  who  love  books. 

5.  They  do  not  enjoy  the  emotions  even  of  surprise, 
wonder,  or  adoration,  as  highly  as  those,  who  inquire  and 
reason. 

6.  They  are  unfitted  for  the  more  profitable  and  honour- 
able employments  of  life. 

7.  They  are  less  likely  to  be  satisfied  with  their  station 
in  life,  and  with  the  labours  and  cares  to  which  they  are 
subjected. 

SEC.  VII.   IMPORTANCE    OF    EDUCATION. 

II.   To  Society. 

Society  is  a  partnership,  and  may  be  considered,  first,  as 
a  material  partnership  ;  second,  as  a  political  and  social  one. 

1 .  As  a  material  partnership,  engaged  in  producing  and 
distributing  wealth,  it  is  benefited  by  education,  because, 

(a)  Education  makes  men  more  industrious  ;  (b)  more 
trustworthy ;  (c)  more  active  and  systematic ;  (d)  more 
cheerful ;  (e)  more  far-sighted ;  (/)  more  economical,  as 
producers  and  preservers  of  property. 

By  neglecting  these  truths,  England  has  suffered.  By 
observing  them,  New-England  has  greatly  prospered. 

Cor.  It  follows :  1 .  That  education  affords  the  most  cer- 
tain means  of  developing  the  industrial  resources  of  a 
country,  and  promoting  its  growth  and  prosperity.  2.  That 
general  education  is  the  best  preventive  of  pauperism. 

2.  As  a  political  and  moral  partnership,  society  is  bene- 
fited by  education,  because, 

(a)  It  tends  to  make  a  people  more  orderly,  and  to  sub- 
stitute reflection  for  passion ;  (b)  to  predispose  them  to  re- 
spect lawful  authority ;  (c)  to  indispose  them  to  submit  to 
oppression ;  ( d)  to  render  political  revolutions  gradual  and 
bloodless  ;  (e)  to  qualify  men  for  the  exercise  of  more  and 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  153 

more  political  power ;  (/)  to  make  refinement  and  civili- 
zation universal. 

Examples  of  the  benignant  social  effects  of  general  edu- 
cation are  afforded,  1.  By  small  communities,  like  the  par- 
ish of  Oberlin  or  the  manufacturing  town  of  Lowell  (Mass.). 
2.  By  states  or  nations,  such  as  the  states  of  New-Eng- 
land, the  democratic  can  tons  of  Switzerland  ;  Holland,  Prus- 
sia, &c. 

The  influence  of  education  in  diminishing  crime,  is  proved 
by  many  particular  facts,  and  by  the  general  result,  that 
crimes  decrease,  usually,  in  proportion,  as  a  good  system  of 
popular  instruction  becomes  more  prevalent. 

This  education,  so  important  to  individuals  and  to  states, 
may  be  made  attainable  to  all,  even  the  most  indigent  and 
laborious  ;  for, 

1.  Labour  does  not  deaden  the  intellect,  but  tends  rather 
to  quicken  and  invigorate,  it. 

2.  The  claims  of  labour  are  no^  inconsistent  with 'leisure 
sufficient  for  mental  culture. 

There  must  be  a  deeper  conviction,  among  the  people,  of 
the  necessity  and  value  of  education,  and  a  clearer  percep- 
tion of  its  nature  and  objects,  before  we  can  expect  any 
great  improvement. 


154  THE    SCHOOL    AND 


CHAPTER  II. 
COMMON    SCHOOLS. 

SECTION  I. 

RELATION  OF  COMMON  SCHOOLS  TO  OTHER  MEANS  OF 
EDUCATION. 

"  Mothers  and  schoolmasters  plant  the  seeds  of  nearly  all  the  good 
and  evil  which  exist  in  our  world.  Its  reformation  must  therefore 
be  begun  in  nurseries  and  in  schools." — DR.  RUSH. 

"  At  home,  a  boy  can  learn  only  what  is  taught  him  ;  but  in  school 
he  can  learn  what  is  taught  to  others." — QUINTILIAN. 

"  That  education  which  will  secure  to  the  future,  the  civilization 
of  the  past  and  present,  is  what  the  country  really  requires." — 
WHEWELL. 

I  HAVE  hitherto  spoken  of  the  education  of  the  people, 
without  referring  to  the  sources,  from  which  they  derive  it. 
I  now  come  to  consider  Common  Schools,  as  forming  one  of 
the  most  important  of  these  sources,  and  the  one  with 
which  we  are  especially  called  to  deal,  in  this  work.  In 
order  to  understand,  more  clearly,  the  precise  agency  which 
these  schools  exert,  it  will  lie  proper,  howjprer,  to  notice 
some  of  the  other  causes,  which  contribute  to  form  the  mind 
of  a  people,  and  the  relations,  which  these  sustain  to  Com- 
mon Schools. 

Among  these  causes,  some  are  physical,  such  as  climate, 
soil,  and  geographical  position ;  and  these,  while  they  exert 
great  power  over  the  character  and  history  of  nations,  are 
not  liable  to  be  modified  materially  by  education.  On  the 
other  hand,  moral  causes,  such  as  those  of  a  political,  reli- 
gious, and  literary  nature,  are  subject  to  human  control ;  and 
there  is,  between  them  and  prevailing  systems  of  education, 
action  and  reaction,  of  the  most  intimate  and  powerful  kind. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.        .\  155 

The  agencies,  however,  which  share  most  immediately  with 
Common  Schools,  in  the  office  of  moulding  a  nation's  spirit 
and  character  are,  1.  the  family;  2.  higher  seminaries  of 
learning ;  3.  the  means  of  self-culture,  provided  in  books, 
lyceums,  &c.  I  propose,  in  this  section,  to  confine  my  in- 
quiries to  the  precise  place  which  the  Common  School  oc- 
cupies in  respect  to  each  of  these ;  and  I  shall  endeavour 
to  show  that,  while  all  of  them  are  necessary  in  a  complete 
system  of  national  education,  each  one  derives  from  the 
Common  School  essential  aid  and  support,  and,  in  its  turn, 
affords  corresponding  aid  and  support  to  it. 

I.  What  relation,  then,  in  the  first  place,  does  the  Com- 
mon School  bear  to  the  family,  as  an  instrument  of  educa- 
tion ?  It  is,  evidently,  the  intention  of  the  Creator,  that  the 
first  years  of  a  child's  life  should  be  passed  under  the  im- 
mediate eye  of  its  parents,  and  especially  under  that  of  an 
affectionate  and  judicious  mother.  It  needs,  then,  a  ten- 
derness and  watchful  care,  which  can  be  expected  from  no 
other  source,  and  in  the  retirement  of  home  it  drinks  in, 
from  the  lips  and  deportment  of  those  so  much  loved  and 
revered,  the  most-  precious  lessons  of  wisdom  and  virtue. 
There  are  cases,  however,  in  which  parents  are  so  occu- 
pied that  they  are  obliged  to  neglect  their  children,  even 
during  their  infant  years ;  and  other  cases,  in  which  they 
are  disqualified,  by  their  character  and  habits,  from  applying 
any  salutary  influence.  In  these  cases,  it  may  be  necessa- 
ry to  place  even  very  young  children  in  infant  schools, 
where  they  can  be  treated  with  proper  tenderness,  and  can 
have  the  benefit  of  good  moral,  and  intellectual  training.  At 
a  later  period,  when  a  child  attains,  for  example,  the  age  of 
seven  or  eight,  and  requires  more  formal  and  thorough  in- 
struction ;  it  is  expedient,  in  most  instances,  that  he  should 
be  separated,  for  a  part  of  each  day,  from  his  parents  (what- 
ever may  be  their  character  and  circumstances),  and  enjoy 
the  peculiar  advantages  of  a  good  s-chool.  In  thus  prefer- 


156  THE    SCHOOL   AND 

ring  a  mixed  education — partly  scholastic  and  partly  do- 
mestic— to  one  purely  domestic,  I  am  influenced  by  the  fol- 
lowing considerations  : 

1.  If  a  child,  at  this  period,  is  educated  entirely  at  home, 
and  by  his  own  parents,  he  will,  in  many  cases,  have  igno- 
rant or  vicious  instructers,  who  have  no  proper  sense  of  the 
value,  of  knowledge  or  of  virtue.    In  such  cases,  of  course, 
he  can  never  advance  beyond  them  in  intelligence  or  char- 
acter, and  the  effect  of  making  home-education  universal, 
would  be,  to  fix  society  in  a  stagnant  condition,  without 
progress  or  change. 

2.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  parents  are  qualified,  by  knowl- 
edge and  disposition,  to  give  a  good  education  to  their  chil- 
dren, they  rarely  have  sufficient  leisure  for  the  purpose,  in 
this  country ;  and  when  they  have,  they  rarely  employ  it, 
in  such  a  manner,  as  to  give  the  child  the  full  benefit  of  a 
systematic  and  thorough  training. 

3.  Even  allowing  to  parents  the  highest  qualifications  and 
the  utmost  fidelity  and  perseverance,  they  are  still,  in  most 
instances,  too  blind  to  their  children's  character  and  capaci- 
ty, or  too  impatient  for  their  improvement,-to  make  wise  and 
judicious  teachers.     "  The  intense  interest,"  says  Godwin, 
"  which  a  parent  feels  in  the  improvement  of  his  offspring, 
frequently  renders  him  totally  unfit  for  the  office  of  a  teach- 
er."    Add  to  this,  that  a  parent  who  spends  some  hours 
each  day  amid   the  vexations  of  the    schoolroom,  is  not 
likely  to  carry  the  requisite  equanimity  to  other  household 
cares,  and  rarely  exercises  authority,  in  other  matters,  with 
the  same  comfort  or  effect,  as  if  the  children  were  separated 
from  home,  for  a  part  of  the  time. 

If,  instead  of  superintending  the  education  of  our  chil- 
dren personally,  we  employ  a  private  or  family  instructor, 
we  subject  our  children,  by  such  an  arrangement,  to  the 
following  disadvantages,  even  though  our  instructor  be,  in 
the  highest  degree,  capable  and  faithful : 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  157 

1.  It  is  physically  impossible  that  a  teacher  can  throw  as 
much  spirit  and  energy  into  his  instructions,  when  they  are 
given  in  the  presence  of  but  one,  or  of  a  very  small  num- 
ber, as  when  they  are  communicated  before  a  large  school. 
The  efficacy  of  teaching,  depends,  very  much,  on  its  vi- 
vacity. 

2.  The  pupil  of  a  private  instructor  depends  too  much  on 
him,  and  too  little  on  himself. 

3.  Such  a  pupil  is  deprived  of  a  great  amount  of  oblique 
or  indirect  instruction,  both   mental  and  moral,  which  a 
scholar  at  a  public  school  derives  from  what  he  hears  ad- 
dressed to  others,  and  from  what  he  sees  of  the  discipline 
of  the  school,  and  of  the  results  which  follow  different 
courses  of  conJuci. 

4.  The  pupil  of  a  private  instructor  is  too  constantly  an 
object  of  attention,  the  effect  of  which  is,  first,  that  he  is 
very  apt  to  overrate  his  own  consequence,  and,  secondly,  he 
is  liable  to  be  too  much  hurried  in  his  studies,  and  too  fre- 
quently interrupted,  by  unnecessary  aid  and  interference. 

5.  Such  a  student  needs  the  inspiring  influence  of  others 
who  are  engaged  in  the  same  pursuits,  and  who,  while  they 
quickened  his  efforts,  would  also  teach  him  the  true  meas- 
ure of  his  own  abilities,  and  the  proper  standard  by  which 
to  estimate  his  personal  importance. 

6.  He  is  deprived  of  the  advantage  of  living  under  a  gov- 
ernment of  fixed  rules,  which  are  framed  for  the  common 
benefit  and  government  of  several  persons  of  different  con- 
ditions and  character  in  life,  and  of  thus  being  gradually 
prepared  to  become  the  subject  of  civil  government.     The 
regulations  of  a  family  are  less  like  those  of  civil  society, 
than  the  regulations  of  a  school. 

7.  As  a  child  must  ultimately  separate  from  his  family, 
and  adapt  himself  to  the  ever-varying  emergencies  of  life, 
and  struggle  with  its  difficulties  and  temptations,  he  should 
be  early  prepared  for  all  this  by  a  training  which  he  can 

0 


158  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

hardly  get,  in  the  sheltered  and  uniform  experience  of  do- 
mestic life, 

But  if  children  ought  to  be  sent  to  school,  the  question 
may  arise,  Why  not  prefer  a  select  school,  where  they  will 
mingle  only  with  those  of  the  more  respectable  and  opulent 
class,  and  enjoy  more  thorough  instruction  and  discipline  ? 
I  answer, 

1.  That,  in  most  cases,  a  select  school  can  be  made  su- 
perior to  the  common  school,  only,  by  absorbing  the  patron- 
age of  those  who  are  best  able  to  support  education,  and 
who  appreciate  most  deeply  its  importance  ;  and  that,  in 
absorbing  that  patronage,  it  condemns  the  common  school  to 
inefficiency,  and  thus  deprives  the  bulk  of  the  community 
of  the  advantages  of  thorough  instruction. 

2.  Select  schools  serve  to  create  and  perpetuate  preju- 
dices against  the  common  school  system,  as  though  it  were 
necessarily  inferior  or  unimportant,  when  the  general  wel- 
fare requires,  that  it  should  be  an  object  of  universal  regard 
and  solicitude. 

3.  Such   schools  encourage   invidious   distinctions   be- 
tween the  rich  and  poor,  which  are  misplaced  everywhere, 
and  especially  in  our  country ;  and  they  also  separate  those 
who,  in  after-life,  Avill  have  to  meet,  on  the  broad  ground  of 
free  and  equal  competition. 

4.  They  have  also  the  effect,  of  making  the  position  of  a 
common  school  teacher  less  pleasant  and  respectable,  there- 
by repelling,  from  the  pursuit,  those  who  are  best  qualified 
for  it. 

In  cities,  and  wherever  population  is  dense  and  property 
abundant,  it  may  be  well  to  have  some  select  schools  of  the 
highest  excellence,  in  order  to  stimulate  the  teachers  and 
patrons  of  common  schools.  But  in  the  present  condition 
of  our  country,  and  especially  of  the  agricultural  districts,  it 
is  a  matter  of  the  last  importance  that  all  efforts  for  the  sup- 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  159 

port  and  encouragement  of  primary  education  should  be 
combined  in  behalf  of  the  district  school.* 

*  The  able  superintendent  of  common  schools  in  Connecticut  (H. 
Barnard,  Esq.),  thus  sums  up  a  review  of  the  effect  of  select  schools 
in  that  state  :  "  During  the  past  year  (1839-40),  I  have  given  par- 
ticular attention  to  this  subject,  and  without  going  any  farther  into 
detail,  I  am  constrained  to  say  that,  in  most  instances,  this  class 
of  private  schools  have  their  origin  in  the  defective  organization  and 
administration  of  the  common  schools,  and  that  they  are  now  exert- 
ing a  most  unhappy  influence  on  their  prosperity,  and  the  efforts  to 
improve  them.  I  know  of  no  other  way  to  restore  the  common 
school  to  its  true  position  in  our  system  of  education,  as  the  broad 
platform  for  all  the  children  of  a  district,  be  they  rich  or  poor,  than 
by  making  it  the  best  school ;  and  I  know  of  no  other  way  of  making 
it  such,  than  a  resolute  determination  to  remove  the  defects  which 
now  make  it  inferior  to  the  private  school." 

"  As  far  as  an  estimate  can  be  formed,  from  the  returns  of  this 
and  the  previous  year,  there  are  more  than  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars  expended  yearly  on  private  schools,  of  a  grade  no  higher  than 
a  class  of  our  common  schools  should  constitute.  A  large  portion 
of  this  sum  can  be  directed  into  the  broad  and  thirsty  channel  of  the 
common  schools  so  soon  as  the  people  make  them  not  only  cheap, 
but  good,  and  not  till  then." — See  Second  Annual  Report  of  the  Board 
of  Commissioners  of  Common  Schools  in  Connecticut,  together  with 
Second  Annual  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Board,  May,  1840. 
I  cannot  omit  this  opportunity  of  recommending  the  reports  which 
have  emanated  from  this  source  as  rich  in  important  suggestions, 
and  full  of  the  most  sound  and  practical  views  in  regard  to  the 
whole  subject  of  common  school  education. 

If  private  schools  are  as  extensively  supported  in  New- York  as  in 
Connecticut,  it  would  follow,  from  the  above  statement,  that  they 
divert  annually  one  million  five  hundred  thousand  dollars,  which 
ought  to  be  applied  in  sustaining  and  improving  our  common 
schools,  and  which  would  be  thus  applied,  were  common  schools 
good  and  efficient. 

A  late  writer  on  Education  in  Europe  gives  a  somewhat  different 
view  of  the  policy  of  sustaining  select  schools.  "  Let  public 
schools,"  says  he,  "  be  rendered  really  efficient,  and  private  schools 
would  become  still  more  efficient,  or  they  would  soon  cease  to  be  en- 
couraged. The  best  system  appears  to  be  that  of  promoting  a  spirit 


160  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

But  if  parents  need  the  aid  of  good  common  schools,  it  is 
obvious,  on  the  other  hand,  that  these  schools  require  the 
aid  and  countenance  of  parents.  They  will,  in  most  cases, 
benefit  children,  only,  in  proportion  as  the  precepts  and  in- 
structions of  the  teacher  are  enforced  by  the  parent.  If  he 
shows,  by  his  deportment,  that  he  values  the  school,  and  is 
anxious  to  increase  its  efficiency  and  usefulness  ;  if,  instead 
of  obstructing  the  teacher  in  his  plan;5  or  Disputing  his  au- 
thority, he  assiduously  furthers  both  ;  if  he  manifests  a  live- 
ly interest  in  the  progress  of  his  children,  and  takes  pains 
to  ascertain,  personally,  how  far  they  discharge  their  duty 
and  how  far  the  instructions  they  receive  are  adapted  to  their 
wants — in  such  case  both  teacher  and  taught  will  have  the 
strongest  inducements  to  exertion,  and  the  school  will  prove 
most  fruitful  of  good.  Such  'attentions,  however,  cannot  be 
expected  from  all  parents,  and  are  therefore  the  more  incum- 
bent on  those,  who  are  competent  to  bestow  them,  and  who 
know  the  value  of  a  good  education.  If  they  discharge  their 
duty  in  this  respect,  the  result  will  be,  that  all  the  children 
of  the  vicinity,  even  those  of  the  most  vicious  and  ignorant 
parents,  will  be  brought  under  the  benign  influence  of  a  good 
school.  On  the  other  hand,  when  this  great  duty  is  neg- 
lected, and  no  cheering  influence  is  extended  from  the  fam- 
ily to  the  school,  the  teacher  must  be  more  than  man  if  his 

of  honourable  rivalry  between  the  conductors  of  public  schools  and 
those  of  private  establishments.  Let  the  government  do  well,  and 
individual  professors,  if  they  can,  do  better.  This  rivalry,  in  Scot- 
land, has  worked  very  beneficially.  The  parochial  schools  are  in- 
different, but  they  have  stimulated  into  existence  a  multitude  of  pri- 
vate schools,  supported  entirely  upon  the  condition  of  giving  better 
instruction  than  can  be  obtained  in. the  public  schools.  Had  the 
public  schools  not  been  established,  the  private  schools  of  Scotland 
would  have  been  far  less  efficient  than  they  are."  These  observa- 
tions are  applicable  to  cities  and  large  villages,  but  not  to  the  rural 
districts  of  our  own  country,  where  population  is  sparse,  and  where 
select  schools  usually  prove  fatal  to  the  district  school. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  161 

heart  does  not  fail  him  in  the  midst  of  his  unrequited, 
unaided  labours.  How  can  he  keep  alive  his  zeal,  or  how 
shall  he  rekindle  the  waning  fires  of  his  enthusiasm,  when 
he  meets  around  him  nothing  but  cold  indifference  and  neg- 
lect ?  No  agent  can  be  expected  to  be  permanently  vigi- 
lant and  faithful  without  supervision  from  his  employers  ;  and 
even  were  it  otherwise,  a  teacher's  lessons  can  make  but 
little  impression  on  children,  who  feel  that  their  parents, 
who  ought  to  be  most  deeply  interested  in  their  improve- 
ment, are,  in  fact,  indifferent  to  it. 

II.  We  proceed  now  to  consider  the  relations  between 
common  schools,  and  higher  seminaries  of  learning.  All  these 
institutions  are  necessary,  in  a  complete  system  of  public  in- 
struction. In  order  to  supply  a  city  with  water,  it  is  requi- 
site, in  the  first  place,  to  construct  a  reservoir  on  an  elevated 
site,  and  of  sufficient  capacity,  to  answer  all  demands  that 
may  be  made  upon  it.  From  this  reservoir,  a  main  trunk 
or  aqueduct  is  carried  to  the  borders  of  the  city ;  and  from 
it,  again,  numberless  branches  diverge,  which  divide  and 
subdivide,  till  the  pure  element  is  brought  to  every  door,  and 
enjoyed  by  every  inhabitant.  It  is  the  same  with  knowl- 
edge, and  with  the  other  blessings  of  civilization.  Books 
and  other  records  form  the  principal  reservoir,  in  which  these 
are  collected.  Of  these  books,  some  are  exceedingly  rare, 
and  are  accessible  only  to  a  favoured  few ;  others  are  writ- 
ten in  foreign  languages,  or  in  those  no  longer  spoken ; 
some  of  them  can  be  expounded  only  after  years  of  arduous 
study,  and  some  need  to  be  illustrated,  by  experiments  with 
expensive  apparatus,  or  by  costly  specimens  and  graphical 
representations. 

It  must  be  apparent,  that  as  the  inhabitants  of  a  city  can- 
not all  resort  to  the  main  reservoir,  so  neither  can  all  stu- 
dents draw  knowledge  from  the  original  sources.  There 
must  be  various  orders  of  teachers.  Besides  bold  and  gift- 
ed minds,  who  are  not  content  unless  they  push  their  way 
O2 


162  THE    SCHOOL   AND 

unto  undiscovered  regions,  and  add  something  new  to  the 
great  storehouse  of  truth,  there  must  be  others  to  reduce 
their  researches  to  some  definite  form,  and  incorporate  them 
with  pre-existing  systems.  There  must  be  others,  again,  to 
divest  science  and  philosophy  of  their  more  recondite  forms, 
and  to  present  them,  in  such  a  way,  as  to  meet  the  appre- 
hension, and  arrest  the  interest  of  the  reading  world. — In 
the  education  of  the  young,  we  need,  first ,  those  who  can 
deal  with  minds  that  have  been  so  far  trained  to  the  higher 
efforts  of  the  reasoning  faculty,  and  so  far  furnished  with, 
elementary  knowledge,  that  they  can  comprehend,  not,  in- 
deed, the  highest  truths  of  science,  but  yet  such  as  are  ex- 
pressed in  the  most  rigorous  and  logical  manner.  As,  how- 
ever, but  a  small  proportion  of  the  young  can  be  thus  train- 
ed, we  need  a  still  larger  class  of  teachers,  who,  through 
oral  instruction  and  by  books,  shall  expound  the  results  of 
scientific  discovery  in  a  less  exact  and  rigorous  form,  and 
thus  render  some  of  its  great  principles,  intelligible  to  those 
who  have  been  but  partially  educated.  And  since  there  are 
vast  multitudes,  especially  among  the  young,  whose  minds 
have  either  not  been  developed  at  all,  or  in  only  a  slight  de- 
gree, it  is  evidently  necessary,  that  a  still  larger  class  of 
teachers  should  be  occupied,  in  conveying  the  first  elements 
of  knowledge  to  the  uninstructed,  and  in  doing  it,  in  that 
form,  which  shall  most  perfectly  combine  simplicity  with 
attractiveness. 

Thus  we  see  the  necessity,  of  three  grades  of  seminaries, 
in  order  to  a  complete  system  of  national  education — col- 
leges, academies,  and  common  schools.  Colleges,  commu- 
nicate more  immediately  with  the  great  reservoirs  of  science 
and  literature,  and  dispense  their  treasures  to  a  limited  num- 
ber of  minds.  These  last,  as  teachers,  authors,  and  profes- 
sional men,  serve  as  conductors  to  carry  knowledge  over  a 
wider  surface,  and  to  impart  it  to  a  greater  number  of  minds 
in  academies  and  elsewhere.  Common  schools  are  the  last 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  163 

ramifications  of  the  great  system,  and  serve  to  convey  the 
rudiments  of  learning  and  civilization  to  every  hamlet  and 
every  inhabitant.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  if  the 
main  trunk  or  larger  branches  were  stopped  up,  the  lesser 
ones  would  soon  cease  to  perform  their  office.  Colleges 
and  academies  are  necessary  to  common  schools,  as  chan- 
nels, through  which  the  treasures  of  a  civilization,  always 
expanding  and  improving,  may  flow  down  to  every  teacher. 
They  keep  up  an  intercourse,  between  the  highest  science 
and  the  lowest  scholarship,  inciting  the  one  to  make  itself 
useful  and  intelligible,  and  animating  the  other  to  more  gen- 
erous aspirations  after  knowledge.  One  effect  of  closing 
our  academies  and  colleges,  or  of  paralyzing  their  influence, 
would  be,  that  the  people  would  soon  cease  to  value  knowl- 
edge, or  would  be  content  with  its  humblest  rudiments.  An- 
other effect  would  be,  that  the  few  who  can  afford  it,  would 
send  their  sons  to  foreign  countries  to  gain  an  education, 
which,  though  not  adapted  to  our  state  of  society,  would  still 
be  sure  to  invest  its  possessors  with  a  commanding  influence  ; 
and  thus  the  governing  power  of  society  would  be  placed, 
forever,  in  the  hands  of  the  wealthy.  Under  our  present 
system,  the  highest  advantages  of  education  that  the  coun- 
try affords,  are  placed  within  the  reach  of  those  of  humble 
means  ;  and  it  is  a  cheering  fact,  that  the  majority  of  students, 
both  in  our  colleges  and  academies,  are  not  drawn  from  the 
circles  of  the  affluent.  They  are  the  children  of  our  farm- 
ers, mechanics,  and  tradesmen,  and  have,  often,  no  other  for- 
tune than  a  stout  heart  and  a  burning  desire  for  knowledge. 
On  the  other  hand,  common  schools  are  equally  necessa- 
ry to  academies  and  colleges.*  If  there  were  no  places  of 

*  This  remark  needs  some  qualification.  Colleges  have  subsisted 
where  there  were  no  common  schools,  because  education,  being  re- 
garded as  the  privilege  of  the  few,  was  dispensed  in  such  cases,  not 
in  seminaries  open  for  the  common  benefit  of  all,  but  only  in  select 
places  of  instruction.  It  is  evident,  however,  that,  if  colleges  are 


164  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

primary  instruction,  or  if  they  performed  their  work  in  a 
slovenly  and  wretched  manner,  the  result  would  be  great,  if 
not  universal,  indifference  to  all  high  science  and  fine  liter- 
ature. In  improving  common  schools  and  extending  their  . 
benefits,  we,  in  effect,  multiply  the  minds  which  will  be  awa- 
kened to  the  love  and  pursuit  of  knowledge  ;  and  in  multi- 
plying such  minds,  we  multiply  those  who  will  seek  admit- 
tance to  higher  seminaries  of  learning.  Knowledge,  like 
water,  seeks  its  own  level,  and  will  therefore  rise  to  the 
height  from  which  it  flowed.  As  it  descends  into  the  com- 
mon school,  it  seizes  upon  many  a  generous  spirit,  and  bears 
it  back  to  its  own  native  eminence.  The  youth,  who  has 
tasted  the  pleasures  of  a  little  knowledge,  will  be  almost 
certain  to  thirst  for  more,  and  will  thus  be  prompted  to  pass 
from  the  common  school  to  an  academy,  and  from  the  acad- 
emy to  a  college.  In  proportion,  too,  as  these  common 
schools  are  improved,  they  will  render  it  necessary  for  oth- 
er institutions  to  offer  instruction  of  a  higher  order,  and  to 
meet  the  wants  of  more  enlarged  and  better  disciplined 
minds.  In  short,  a  community  could  afford  no  more  conclu- 
sive evidence,  that  it  appreciates  the  value  of  the  most  thor- 
ough and  liberal  culture,  than  by  being  universally  and  ar- 
dently interested  in  common  schools. 

To  show  that  this  mutual  dependance  of  common  schools 
and  colleges  is  not  imaginary,  I  might  adduce  many  facts. 
One  will  be  sufficient.  New-England,  from  the  earliest  pe- 
riod in  its  history,  has  been,  as  we  all  know,  the  land  of 
common  schools.  Has  it  not  been,  also,  the  favourite  soil 
of  colleges  and  academies  ?  The  population  of  the  six 
New-England  States,  is  not  so  great,  as  that  of  Virginia  and 
the  two  Carolinas,  by  some  three  hundred  thousand  ;  yet  it 

confined  to  their  legitimate  object,  there  must  be  primary  schools, 
and  in  such  a  countiy  as  ours,  the  former  will  flourish  and  fulfil  their 
appointed  work,  only*in  proportion  as  the  latter  multiply  and  become 
common. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  165 

has  more  than  twice  as  many  students  in  its  colleges,  and 
nine  times  as  many  scholars  in  its  common  schools.* 

III.  In  regard  to  the  mutual  relations  between  common 
schools  on  the  one  hand,  and  books,  lyceums,  fyc.,  on  the 
other,  but  one  or  two  remarks  are  necessary.  It  must  be 
evident,  that  books  are  multiplied  to  no  purpose,  so  far  as 
they  are  concerned  who  cannot  read,  or  who  find  no  pleas- 
ure in  that  employment.  So  with  lectures,  and  the  various 
means  of  instruction  afforded  by  lyceums,-  and  young  men's 
associations  ;  these  will  have  little  attraction,  for  minds  that 
have  received  no  scholastic  culture  in  childhood.  Give  a 
child  the  rudiments  of  a  good  English  education,  and  imbue 

*  The  population  of  the  New-England  States  is  2,234,822  ;  that 
of  Virginia,  North  and  South  Carolina,  is  2,587,614.  According  to 
the  last  census,  the  whole  number  of  students  hi  the  colleges  of 
New-England  is  2857,  and  the  whole  number  of  common  school 
scholars  is  about  574,000.  In  Virginia,  North  and  South  Carolina, 
the  whole  number  of  collegiate  students  is  1423,  and  the  whole 
number  in  common  schools  is  63,000.  In  making  this  comparison, 
it  should  be  remembered  that  in  the  Southern  States  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  children  (in  Virginia  about  one  third  of  the  whole 
number)  are  slaves,  and  are,  of  course,  denied  access  to  schools. 
Of  the  remainder,  but  about  one  out  of  three  seem  to  be  at  primary 
and  common  schools  in  Virginia ;  whereas,  in  New-England,  seven 
out  of  eight  enjoy  that  privilege.  2.  It  is  also  worthy  of  remark, 
that  in  the  Southern  States,  of  the  whole  number  of  scholars,  those 
in  attendance  at  the  higher  seminaries  (academies  and  colleges) 
form  a  much  greater  proportion  than  at  the  north  ;  the  number  be- 
ing in  the  former  case  as  one  to  three,  whereas,  in  New-England, 
they  are  as  one  to  twelve.  This  result  might  be  anticipated.  In 
proportion,  as  social  arrangements  depart  from  the  democratic 
form  and  spirit,  in  the  same  proportion,  will  the  higher  classes  be 
likely  to  appropriate  to  themselves  the  benefits  of  education ;  and 
in  the  same  proportion,  too,  is  interest  in  the  whole  subject  likely 
to  decline.  Under  a  system  purely  republican,  education  becomes 
the  common  and  equal  interest  of  all ;  and  institutions  of  every 
grade  are  likely  to  be  supported,  in  the  degree,  in  which  they  are 
useful. 


166  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

his  rnind  with  a  spirit  of  activity  and  of  liberal  inquiry,  and 
he  will  gladly  avail  himself  of  every  opportunity  for  self- 
cultivation.  Hence  we  see  the  active  interest,  which  ought 
to  be  taken  in  common  schools  by  authors  and  publishers, 
and  by  eveiy  friend  to  the  establishment  of  public  libraries, 
and  to  the  formation  of  associations  for  mutual  improvement. 
It  is  through  such  schools,  mainly,  that  we  may  hope  to  in- 
spire our  people  with  a  taste  for  reading,  and  with  a  desire 
for  all  useful  kno.wledge  and  liberal  accomplishments. 

And,,  on  the  other  hand,  common  schools  must  fail  to 
produce  their  legitimate  effect,  unless  the  people  are  liber- 
ally supplied  with  books,  and  with  other  means  of  self-cul- 
ture. What  boots  it  that  a  child  has  learned  to  read,  if  he 
never  exercises  the  talent  ?  Of  what  use  can  it  be,  that  he 
has  in  his  hand  the  key  of  all  knowledge,  when  he  is  deni- 
ed the  privilege  of  applying  it  to  the  lock,  or  feels  no  desire 
to  enjoy  such  privilege  1  Books,  and  lectures,  awaken  the 
torpid  intellect.  They  afford  it  scope  for  the  exercise  of 
its  powers,  and  teach  it  that  there  is  pleasure  and  profit 
in  the  employment.  The  great  object  of  school-training,  as 
we  have  often  remarked,  is  to  implant  in  the  youthful  mind 
the  germs  of  a  liberal  and  active  self-culture.  If  it  fails  in 
this,  it  fails  wholly  ;  and  yet  it  will  succeed  in  vain,  unless 
the  child,  when  he  leaves  school,  has  ready  access  to  books, 
and  to  other  sources  of  instruction.  As  friends,  then-,  of 
common  schools,  and  of  universal  education,  we  cannot  but 
welcome,  with  inexpressible  satisfaction,  the  generous  efforts 
which  are  now  making,  to  plant  libraries  in  every  neighbour- 
hood, and  to  spread  far  and  wide,  associations  for  the  diffu- 
sion of  knowledge,  by  lectures,  debates,  &c. 

In  closing  this  section,  I  would  remind  the  reader,  how 
intimate  and  striking  is  the  connexion,  which  subsists  be- 
tween common  schools  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  progress 
of  civilization  on  the  other.  Why  is  it,  that  the  blessings 
of  civilization  have  failed  for  so  many  ages  to  reach  the 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  167 

great  mass  of  mankind  ?  Is  it  not,  simply,  because  that  mass 
has  been  left  to  grovel  in  ignorance,  and  mental  debase- 
ment ?  The  result  of  knowledge  and  profound  thought, 
civilization  can  neither  be  appreciated,  nor  enjoyed,  by  the 
rude  and  unlettered.  Its  progress,  from  age  to  age,  has  been 
the  result  of  merely  augmentiug  and  remoulding  the  treas- 
ures of  intelligence  and  refinement  already  stored  up  ;  and 
hence,  where  there  is  no  mental  cultivation,  there  can  be  no 
progress.  The  wheels  of  the  social  system  may  roll  on 
triumphantly,  and  new  conquests  may  be  made  for  human- 
ity in  the  aggregate  ;  while  multitudes,  unknown  to  history, 
may  not  only  have  no  share  in  such  conquests,  but  may  ac- 
tually form  the  blood-stained  price,  with  which  they  are 
won.  That  all  may  have  a  part,  in  the  blessings  of  civili- 
zation, all  must  be  educated.  The  light  of  instruction  must 
conspire,  with  the  labours  of  industry,  in  lifting  the  masses 
out  of  the  dust,  and  in  admitting  them  to  the  sunshine  of  a 
higher  and  better  life.  Already,  have  these  two  causes 
worked  wonders  of  deliverance  for  oppressed  and  neglected 
humanity  ;  but  miracles,  yet  greater  and  more  wondrous, 
are  still  needed,  and  must  still  be  wrought. 

It  must  be  evident  that  education,  one  of  these  great  mis- 
sionaries of  civilization,  can  be  made  universal,  only  in  com- 
mon schools.  To  these  humble  seminaries,  then,  we  must 
look,  if  we  would  see  all  mankind,  and  especially  all  our 
own  countrymen,  becoming  civilized  indeed.  It  is  through 
them,  and  them  only,  that  we  can  reach  four  fifths  of  our 
people,  at  that  interesting  period  in  life,  when  impressions 
are  most  deep  and  lasting  ;  that  we  can  open  upon  them  the 
genial  light  of  knowledge,  religion,  and  law ;  and  animate 
them  with  the  all-comprehending  spirit  of  wisdom  and  char- 
ity. A  narrow  and  exclusive  civilization,  which  is  intended 
to  shine  only  on  the  favoured  few,  may  come  forth,  from 
the  high  places  of  science.  The  common  school  is  the 
lens,  which  collects  the  scattered  lights  of  a  more  compre- 


168  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

hensive  and  democratic  civilization,  and  brings  them  to  bear 
on  the  opening  minds  of  a  whole  people.  Let  the  people 
see  to  it  that  that  lens  is  made  more  and  more  transparent ; 
that  it  collects  from  every  quarter  the  rays  of  intellectual 
and  moral  light,  and  casts  them  with  an  intenser  brightness, 
over  all  our  land. 


SECTION  II. 
PRESENT    STATE    OF    COMMON    SCHOOLS. 

"  I  promised  God  that  I  would  look  upon  every  Prussian  peasant 
child  as  a  being  who  could  complain  of  me  before  God,  if  I  did  not 
pro  ride  for  him  the  best  education,  as  a  man  and  a  Christian,  which 
it  was  possible  for  me  to  provide." — School-counsellor  DINTER. 

IN  order  to  judge  the  better  of  the  present  condition  of 
our  common  schools,  it  may  be  well  to  determine,  in  the 
first  instance,  what  they  ought  to  accomplish.  It  is  by  com- 
paring them,  as  they  are,  and  as  they  ought  to  be,  that  we 
shall  most  clearly  ascertain,  how  far  they  answer  their  end, 
and  in  what  respects,  they  ought  to  be  improved.  In  at- 
tempting to  make  this  comparison,  we  must  remind  the 
reader,  that  we  shall  be  obliged  to  deal  in  general  state- 
ments ;  and  that,  as  such  statements  are  always  subject  to  ex- 
ceptions, so,  in  the  present  instance,  both  important  and  nu- 
merous exceptions  ought  to  be  allowed  for.  Our  task  will 
require  us  to  exhibit  the  dark  side  of  the  picture  ;  but  we 
would  not  forget  ourselves,  nor  have  others  forget,  that  it  is 
relieved,  by  many  bright  spots.  We  know  well,  that  there 
are,  in  all  parts  of  the  state,  faithful  and  able  teachers,  and 
well-conducted  schools.  We  know,  too,  that  our  common 
school  system,  whatever  may  be  its  defects,  is  accomplish- 
ing vast  good  ;  and  that  on  such  a  subject,  "  our  business," 
to  borrow  the  language  of  Guizot,  "  is  rather  to  methodise 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  169 

and  improve  what  exists,  than  to  destroy,  for  the  purpose  of 
inventing  and  renewing,  upon  the  faith  of  dangerous  theo- 
ries." To  preserve  what  is  good,  and  to  repair  or  recon- 
struct what  is  defective,  should  be  our  single  object. 

It  was  once  thought  sufficient,  if  schools  were  provided 
in  sufficient  numbers  for  a  whole  population,  and  if  all  the 
children  were  brought  to  attend.    It  was  not  considered,  that 
these  schools  might  fail  of  their  great  design  ;  owing  either 
to  the  irregular  attendance  of  the  scholars,  or  to  the  incom- 
petency  of  the  teacher,  or  to  the  inadequate  support  or  de- 
fective organization  of  the  school.     It  is  quite  evident,  that 
children  cannot  improve  at  school,  who  are  one  day  present 
and,  the  next  day  absent,  and  who,  besides  this  irregularity  in. 
their  ordinary  attendance,  are  kept  entirely  from  school  during 
several  months  each  year.    It  is  equally  clear,  that  the  same 
evils  may  result,  from  a  frequent  change  of  teachers,  or  from 
having  the  school  badly  organized,  and  subjected  to  the  con- 
trol of  parents  and  trustees  who  are  insensible  to  its  impor 
tance,  and  as  ready  to  embarrass  as  to  strengthen  and  sus- 
tain it.     The  greatest  calamity,  however,  which  can  befall 
the  education  of  a  people,  is  to  have  teachers  without  com- 
petent knowledge  ;  with  no  aptness  to  teach  or  govern  ;  and 
who  feel,  at  the  same  time,  no  strong  desire  to  improve 
themselves,  nor  any  deep  sense  of  their  responsibility  to 
God,  and  to  their  youthful  charge.    "  Like  priest,  like  peo- 
ple," is  an  old  proverb,  full  of  wisdom'.     It  holds  as  true  of 
the  district  schoolmaster,  as  of  the  parish  clergyman.     It 
holds,  indeed,  of  every  one,  who  is  to  operate  on  the  charac- 
ter of  others,  and  especially  of  the  young,  by  precept  and 
example.    In  all  other  cases,  we  seem  to  appreciate  its  im- 
portance.    If  apprentices  have  an  idle  or  bungling  master, 
we  expect  them  to  be  bad  workmen.     If  a  family  has  a 
drunken  father  or  mother,  we  expect  the  children  to  be  idle, 
vicious,  and  improvident.     Is  it  not  madness,  then,  to  expect 
that  the  scholars,  in  a  common  school,  can  be  trained  to  vir- 


170  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

tue,  and  imbued  with  knowledge  and  good  intellectual  hab- 
its, by  instructers,  who  themselves  are  destitute  of  these 
qualities  1 

We  have  said  enough,  in  the  last  chapter,  of  the  nature 
and  ends  of  education,  to  authorize  us  in  assuming,  that  the 
schools,  in  which  nine  tenths  of  our  people  are  to  acquire  the 
rudiments  of  knowledge,  and  become  qualified  to  act  as  men 
and  citizens,  ought  to  be, 

1.  Places  of  agreeable  resort — connecting  pleasant  asso- 
ciations with  study,  and  promoting  health  and  vigour  of 
body. 

2.  They  should  be  so  conducted,  as  to  promote  neatness 
and  order,  and  cultivate  good  manners  and  refined  feelings. 

3.  They  should  cherish  the  moral  sentiments,  and  culti- 
vate habits  of  purity,  and  truth. 

4.  They  should  lay  the  foundation  of  good  intellectual 
habits,  and  awaken  a  spirit  of  liberal  self-culture. 

5.  They  should  extend  their  benefits,  to  all  the  children 
in  their  vicinity,  not  otherwise  well  instructed. 

In  endeavouring  to  ascertain,  how  far  these  conditions 
are  fulfilled,  1  y  the  common  schools  of  our  country,  and 
more  especially  of  our  own  state,  I  shall  confine  myself  to 
official  returns.  About  three  years  since,  special  visitors 
were  appointed  by  the  State  Superintendent  in  each  of  the 
counties,  who  were  requested  to  visit  and  inspect  the  schools, 
and  to  report  minutely  in  regard  to  their  state  and  pros- 
pects. The  most  respectable  citizens,  without  distinction 
of  party,  were  selected  to  discharge  this  duty ;  and  the  re- 
sult of  their  labours  is  contained  in  two  reports,  made,  the 
one  in  April,  1840,  the  other  in  February,  1841.  These 
documents  are  full  of  minute  and  detailed  information,  fur- 
nished by  men  interested  in  the  great  cause  of  popular  in- 
struction, and  who  were  not  likely  to  misapprehend,  nor  to 
misrepresent  its  condition.  It  is  from  this  source,  that  I 
shall  derive  mv  statements. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  171 

SCHOOLHOUSES,  GROUNDS,   &C. 

I.  I  ask,  then,  first,  are  our  common  schools  places  of 
agreeable  resort,  calculated  to  promote  health,  and  to  con- 
nect pleasant  associations  with  study  ? 

Ans.  Say  the  visiters,  in  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  af- 
fluent towns,  of  the  southeastern  section  of  the  state,  "  It 
may  be  remarked,  generally,  that  the  schoolhouses  are 
built  in  the  old  style,  are  too  small  to  be  convenient,  and, 
with  one  exception,  too  near  the  public  roads,  generally 
having  no  other  playground."  Twelve  districts  were  vis- 
ited in  this  town. — See  Report  of  Visiters  (1840),  p.  47. 

Say  the  visiters  of  another  large  and  wealthy  town  in  the 
central  part  of  the  state,  "  Out  of  the  20  schools  they  vis- 
ited, 10  of  the  schoolhouses  were  in  bad  repair,  and  many 
of  them  not  worth  repairing.  In  none  were  any  means 
provided  for  the  ventilation  of  the  room.  In  many  of  the 
•districts,  the  schoolrooms  are  too  small  for  the  number  of 
scholars.  The  location  of  the  schoolhouses  is  generally 
pleasant.  There  are,  however,  but  few  instances  where 
playgrounds  are  attached,  and  their  condition  as  to  privies 
is  very  bad.  The  arrangement  of  seats  and  desks  is  gen- 
erally very  bad,  and  inconvenient  to  both  scholars  and 
teachers.  Most  of  them  are  without  backs." — P.  28  (Rep., 
1840). 

From  another  town,  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  state, 
containing  a  large  population,  and  twenty-two  school  dis- 
tricts, the  visiters  report  of  district  No.  1,  that  the  school- 
house  is  large  and  commodious,  but  scandalously  cut  and 
marked  ;  the  schoolroom  but  tolerably  clean  ;  the  privies  very 
filthy,  and  no  means  of  ventilation  but  by  opening  the  door 
or  raising  the  window.  No.  2  has  an  old  schoolhouse ; 
the  room  not  clean ;  seats  and  desks  well  arranged,  but  cut 
and  marked ;  no  ventilation ;  the  children  healthy,  but  not 
clean.  No.  3  has  an  old  frame  building,  but  warm  and 


172  THE    SCHOOL   AND 

comfortable.  No.  4  has  a  very  poor,  dilapidated  old  frame 
schoolhouse,  though  the  inhabitants  are  generally  wealthy 
for  that  country.  No.  5  has  a  frame  schoolhouse,  old  and 
in  bad  condition ;  schoolroom  not  clean ;  seats  and  desks 
not  convenient.  No.  6  has  a  frame  schoolhouse,  old  and  in 
bad  condition  ;  the  schoolroom  is  not  clean  ;  no  cup  or  pail 
for  drinking  water.  No.  7  has  a  log  schoolhouse,  in  a  very 
bad  condition  ;  desks  and  seats  are  inconvenient.  "  Here, 
too,"  say  the  visitors,  "  society  is  good,  and  people  mostly 
in  easy  circumstances,  but  the  schoolhouse  very  unbecom- 
ing such  inhabitants.  It  does  not  compare  well  with  their 
dwellings."  No.  8,  say  the  visitors,  is  "  a  hard  case."  No. 

9  has  a  frame  house  in  good  condition  and  in  a  pleasant  lo- 
cation, but  is  "  too  small  for  the  number  of  children."     No. 

10  has  a  log  schoolhouse.     No.  11  has  a  "log  shanty  for  a 
schoolhouse,  not  fit  for  any  school."     No.  12  a  log  house. 
No.  13  has  a  log  shanty,  in  bad  condition,  not  pleasantly 
located,  schoolroom  not  clean.     "  The  schoolhouse  or  hovel 
in  this  district  is  so  cold  in  winter,  so  small  and  inconve- 
nient, that  little  can  be  done  towards  preserving  order  or  ad- 
vancing education  among  so  many  scholars ;  some  poor  in- 
habitants and  some  in  good  circumstances ;  might  have  a 
better  schoolhouse."     No.  14  has  a  good  frame  house,  in 
good  condition,  pleasant  location,  with  ample  and  beautiful 
playground ;  schoolroom  in  clean  condition.     The  visitors 
add,  "  In  this  district  the  inhabitants   are  poor,  and  the 
scholars  attend  irregularly ;  the  house  was  built  by  one  man 
in  low  circumstances,  who  has  a  large  family  of  boys  to  edu- 
cate;  a  noble  act."     No.  15  has  a  frame  house,  in  a  good, 
warm,  and  comfortable  condition,  with  a  pleasant  and  retired 
location  and  a  playground.     No.  16  has  a  log  shanty  for  a 
schoolhouse.     No.  17,  "  no  regular  schoolhouse  other  than 
some  old  log  house."     No  18,  no  schoolhouse.     No.  19,  a 
log  shanty.     No.  20  and  21  are  new  districts.     No.  22  has 
a  frame  schoolhouse,  in  good  repair  and  pleasantly  situated. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  173 

Thus,  out  of  twenty-two  scnoolhouses,  not  more  than  five 
are  reported  a»  respectable  or  comfortable ,  uoiie  have  any 
proper  meant,  ot  veiitiiauou ,  eight  are  built  ol  logs ;  and 
but  one  of  them,  according  to  the  visitors,  has  a  privy. — Re- 
port (1840),  p.  142. 

I  will  quote  but  one  other  example.  It  is  from  the  report 
of  the  only  town  in  the  county  of  Oswego  returned  as  vis- 
ited in  1840-1.  "  The  same  fault,"  says  the  visiter,  "ex- 
ists in  most  of  our  schoolhouses  that  is  common  throughout 
this  section  :  they  are  placed  too  near  the  road  ;  no  play- 
ground attached ;  no  privy  (in  most  cases) ;  too  much  ex- 
posed to  the  noise  of  all  passers-by ;  the  windows  are  too 
low,  so  much  so  as  to  be  very  convenient  for  the  scholars, 
on  hearing  a  noise,  to  look  out  and  see  what  is  going  on. 
There  is,  in  general,  too  little  attention  to  having  good  and 
dry  wood  provided,  or  a  good  supply  of  any ;  or  to  have  a 
woodhouse  or  shelter  to  keep  it  from  the  storm  ;*  though 
I  would  say  that  the  districts,  as  a  whole,  have  within  a  few 
years  improved  much." — Report  (1841),  p.  52. 

It  is  also  a  subject  of  frequent  complaint  in  these  reports, 
that  the  seats  are  too  high  (too  high,  say  the  visiters  in  one 
case,  for  a  man  of  six  feet,  and  all  alike),  and  are,  therefore, 
uncomfortable  for  the  children,  as  well  as  productive  of 
much  disorder.  "  We  have  found,"  says  the  report  from  one 
town,  "  except  in  one  school,  all  the. seats  and  desks  much 
too  high,  and  in  that  one  they  were  recently  cut  down  at  our 
recommendation.  In  many  of  our  schools,  a  considerable 
number  of  children  are  crowded  into  the  same  seat,  and  com- 
monly those  seated  beyond  the  entering  place  have  no  means 
of  getting  at  their  seats  but  by  climbing  over  those  already 
seated,  and  to  the  ruin  of  all  regard  to  cleanliness." 

"  We  have  witnessed  much  uneasiness,  if  not  suffering, 

*  Another  neglect,  noticed  by  many  of  the  visiters,  is  the  cold  and 
comfortless  state,  in  which  the  children  find  the  schoolroom  ;  owing 
to  the  late  hour,  at  which  the  fire  is  first  made  in  the  morning. 

P  2 


174  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

among  tne  children,  trom  the  dangling  ot  their  legs  from  a 
high  seal,  and,  with  the  one  exception,  have  seen  them  at- 
tempting to  write  ua  desks  so  high  that,  instead  ol  the  el- 
bow resting  to  assist  the  hand  in  guiding  the  pen,  the  whole 
arm  has,  of  necessity,  been  stretched  out ;  for,  if  they  did 
not  this,  they  must  write  rather  by  guess  than  sight,  unless 
some  one  may  have  the  fortune  to  be  near-sighted,  and, 
from  this  defect,  succeed  in  seeing  his  work.  This  is  a 
great  evil,  and  ought  to  be  remedied  before  we  complain  of 
the  incompetency  of  teachers." — Report  (1841),  p.  38. 

These  specimens  will  serve  to  show,  how  far  many  of 
the  schoolhouses,  in  this  state,  are  pleasant  places  of  resort, 
or  study,  and  in  what  degree  they  are  likely  to  inspire  a  re- 
spect for  education,  or  a  desire  to  enjoy  and  improve  its  ad- 
vantages. We  do  not  look  for  deep  religious  feeling,  in  a 
community,  who  occupy  good  dwelling-houses,  but  are  con- 
tent to  worship  in  poor  and  neglected  churches  ;  nor  do 
we  expect,  great  reverence  for  Christianity,  from  children,  if 
the  sanctuary  to  which  they  are  carried  on  Sunday  is  old 
and  dilapidated — disfigured  by  abuse — without  paint — its 
windows  broken — and  not  a  shrub,  or  tree,  or  square  yard 
of  verdure  in  its  neighbourhood.  The  schoolhouse  is  dedi- 
cated to  education,  as  the  house  of  worship  is  to  religion. 
In  one  case,  as  in  the  other,  the  state  of  the  edifice  indi- 
cates the  regard,  which  its  builders  and  guardians  have,  for 
the  object  to  which  they  have  devoted  it.  Nor  this  only 
The  condition  and  aspect  of  the  building,  with  its  appenda 
ges  and  surrounding  landscape,  are  inseparably  associated, 
in  a  child's  mind,  with  his  first  day  at  school,  and  his  first 
thoughts  about  education.  Is  it  well,  then,  that  these  ear- 
liest, most  lasting,  and  most  controlling  associations,  should 
be  charged  with  so  much  that  is  offensive  ?  Is  it  to  be  ex- 
pected, that  the  youthful  mind  can  regard  that  as  the  cause, 
next  to  religion,  most  important  of  all  others,  which  is  up- 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER,  175 

held  and  promoted,  in  such  buildings,  as  the  district  schocl- 
house  usually  is  ?  Among  the  most  comfortless  and  wretch- 
ed tenements,  which  the  pupil  ever  enters,  he  clunks  ot  it 
with  repugnance ;  the  tasks  which  it  imposes,  he  dreads ; 
and  he  at  length  takes  his  leave  of  it,  as  of  a  prison,  from 
which  he  is  but  too  happy  to  escape. 

This  seems  to  me,  to  be  the  greatest  evil,  connected  with 
our  schoolhouses.  But  their  deleterious  effect,  on  health,  is 
also  to  be  considered.  Air  which  has  been  once  respired 
by  the  lungs,  parts  with  its  healthy  properties,  and  is  no 
longer  fit  for  use.  Hence  a  number  of  persons,  breathing 
the  air  of  the  same  apartment,  soon  contaminate  it,  unless 
the  space  is  very  large,  or  unless  there  is  some  provision 
for  the  introduction  of  fresh,  as  well  as  the  exclusion  of  foul 
air.  This  ventilation  is  especially  important  for  school- 
houses,  since  they  are  usually  small  in  proportion  to  the 
number  of  scholars ;  the  scholars  remain  together  a  long 
while  at  once,  and  are  less  cleanly  in  their  personal  habits 
than  adults.  Yet,  important  as  it  is,  probably  not  one  com- 
mon school  in  fifty,  in  this  state,  will  be  found  supplied 
with  adequate  means  to  effect  it.  The  cracks  and  crevices, 
which  abound  in  our  schoolhouses,  admit  quite  enough  of  cold 
air  in  winter,  but  not  enough  of  fresh.  What  is  wanted  at 
that  season,  for  both  health  and  economy,  is  a  constant  sup 
ply  of  fresh  warm  air ;  and  this  is  easily  obtained  by  caus- 
ing the  air,  as  it  enters  from  without,  to  pass  through  heated 
flues,  or  over  heated  surfaces.  Another  simple  expedient 
for  ventilating  schoolhouses,  is  to  adjust  the  upper  sash  of 
the  windows,  so  that  it  can  be  lowered ;  instead  of  raising 
the  lower  sash  and  opening  the  door,  a  practice  which,  in 
cold  weather,  is  always  hazardous  to  those  over  whom  the 
current  of  fresh  cold  air  passes. 

It  is  also  important,  to  the  health  of  scholars  and  teachers 
in  common  schools,  that  the  roDms  should  be  larger  and 


176  THE    SCHOOL   AND 

have  higher  ceilings  ;  and  that  much  more  scrupulous  atten- 
tion should  be  paid,  to  the  cleanliness  of  both  the  room  and 
its  inmates.  "An  evil,"  say  the  visitors  of  one  of  the 
to\vns,  "  greater  than  the  variety  of  schoolbooks  or  the 
want  of  necessary  apparatus,  is  having  schoolrooms  so  un- 
skilfully made  and  arranged.  Of  our  13  schoolrooms,  only 
3  are  ten  feet  high,  and  of  the  residue  only  one  is  over 
eight  feet.  The  stupidity  arising  from  foul,  oft-breathed 
air,  is  set  down  as  a  grave  charge  against  the  capacity  of 
the  scholars  or  the  energy  of  the  teacher.  A  room  for  30 
children,  allowing  12  square  feet  for  each  child,  is  low  at 
10  feet,  and  for  every  additional  ten  children  an  extra  foot 
in  elevation  is  absolutely  necessary,  to  enable  the  occupants 
of  the  room  to  breathe  freely." — Report  (1841),  p.  38. 

II.  Are  common  schools  so  conducted,  as  to  promote  hab- 
its of  neatness  and  order,  and  cultivate  good  manners  and  re- 
fined feelings  ?  These  are  important  to  all  children,  but  all 
have  not,  at  home,  the  same  facilities  for  acquiring  them. 
Hence,  unless  cultivated  at  school,  they  can  never  reach 
many  children  at  all,  especially  at  that  period  in  life,  when 
impressions  are  made  most  easily  and  deeply.  Even  where 
this  is  not  the  case,  and  home  affords,  in  these  respects,  the 
most  salutary  influence,  children  still  need  attention,  at 
school,  to  counteract  the  pernicious  example  of  coarse  com- 
panions, as  well  as  their  own  strong  propensity  to  careless- 
ness and  irregularity.  What  are  our  schools,  then,  in  this 
respect  ? 

From  the  quotations  already  made  from  the  reports  of  visi- 
ters,  it  appears  that  the  schoolrooms,  in  many  cases,  were  not 
clean ;  and  the  same  thing  is  often  alleged  of  the  children. 
I  will  add  but  one  other  passage,  to  which  I  happen  to  open 
on  p.  39  of  the  Report  (1840).  It  relates  to  a  town  con- 
taining 24  school  districts,  of  which  16  were  visited.  Of 
these  16,  one  quarter  are  represented  to  have  been  almost 
entirely  regardless  of  neatness  and  order,  viz. :  No.  4  "  has 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  177 

a  dirty  schoolroom,  and  the  appearance  of  the  children  was 
dirty  and  sickly."  No.  2  "  has  a  dirty  schoolroom,  incon- 
veniently arranged,  and  ventilated  all  over ;"  the  children 
"  rather  dirty,"  and  no  means  of  supplying  fresh  water  ex- 
cept from  the  neighbour's  pails  and  cups.  No.  3  has  "  an 
extremely  dirty  schoolroom,  without  ventilation,  the  children 
not  clean,  and  no  convenience  for  water."  No.  24  "  has  a 
schoolhouse  out  of  repair,  dirty,  and  inconvenient  in  its  ar- 
rangements." 

It  is  also  a  subject  of  almost  universal  complaint,  that  the 
schoolhouses  are  without  privies.  On  an  average,  probably 
not  more  than  one  in  twenty,  of  the  schoolhouses  throughout 
the  state,  has  this  appendage  ;  and  in  these,  it  was  almost  in- 
variably found,  by  the  visiters,  to  be  in  a  bad  state.  This 
fact  speaks  volumes,  of  the  attention,  which  is  paid  at  these 
schools,  to  delicacy  of  manners,  and  refinement  of  feeling. 
None  but  the  very  poorest  families  think  of  living  without 
such  a  convenience  at  home  ;  and  a  man,  who  should  build 
a  good  dwelling-house,  but  provide  no  place  for  retirement 
when  performing  the  most  private  offices  of  nature,  would  be 
thought  to  give  the  clearest  evidence,  of  a  coarse  and  brutal 
mind.  Yet  respectable  parents  allow  their  children  to  go  to 
a  school  where  this  is  the  case  ;  and  where  the  evil  is  great- 
ly aggravated  by  the  fact,  that  numbers  of  both  sexes  are  col- 
lected, and  that,  too,  at  an  age  of  extreme  levity,  and  when 
the  youthful  mind  is  prone  to  the  indulgence  of  a  prurient 
imagination.  Says  one  of  the  visiters  (Report,  1840,  p.  77), 
"  In  most  cases  in  this  town,  the  scholars,  male  and  female, 
are  turned  promiscuously  and  simultaneously  into  the  public 
highway,  without  the  shelter  of  so  much  (in  the  old  districts) 
as  a  '  stump'  for  a  covert  to  the  calls  of  nature.  The  bane- 
ful tendency,  on  the  young  and  pliant  sensibilities,  of  this 
barbarous  custom,  are  truly  lamentable."  So  the  visiters  of 
one  of  the  largest  and  oldest  counties  :  "  We  regret  to  per- 
ceive that  many  of  the  districts  have  neglected  to  erect  priv- 


178  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

ies  for  the  use  of  the  children  at  school.  This  is  a  lam- 
entable error.  The  injury  to  the  taste  and  morals  of  the 
children  which  will  naturally  result  from  this  neglect,  is  of 
a  character  much  more  serious  than  the  discomfort  which 
is  obviously  produced  by  it." — (Report,  1840,  p.  131.) 

III.  We  have  said,  that  schools  should  be  so  conducted 
as  to  strengthen  the  moral  sentiments  of  children,  and  rear 
them  to  habits  of  virtue  and  purity.  There  is  probably  no 
one  respect,  in  which  they  so  generally,  or  so  grievously 
fail  of  their  object.  In  the  reports  of  visitors  already  often 
referred  to,  there  is  scarcely  an  allusion  to  the  subject ;  and 
though  this  silence  may  have  been  owing,  in  part,  to  the 
hasty  manner  in  which  the  inspection,  in  that  instance,  was 
necessarily  conducted,  it  must  have  been  owing,  still  more 
to  the  fact,  that  the  importance  of  moral  culture  is  not  appre- 
ciated. Common  schools  have  been  regarded,  as  nurseries 
of  the  intellect  only.  Parents  and  teachers  have  seemed 
to  think,  that  there  would  be  opportunities  enough,  at  home, 
for  the  cultivation  of  the  heart  and  conscience.  They  have 
forgotten  that,  while  men  sleep,  the  enemy  comes  and  sows 
tares ;  that  if  the  all-important  work  of  moral  training  be 
suspended  each  day,  for  some  hours,  while  the  child  is  re- 
moved beyond  the  parental  eye,  and  is  mingling  promiscu- 
ously with  his  schoolmates,  he  can  hardly  escape  injury. 
Vicious  influences  will  rain  down  upon  his  mind  from  vari- 
ous sources  ;  and  hence  one,  who  is  improving  fast  in 
knowledge,  may  be  ripening  yet  faster  in  wickedness  ;  and 
though  he  bears  to  his  home  the  highest  character  as  a 
scholar,  he  may  be  losing,  meanwhile,  all  that  makes  schol- 
arship a  blessing,  either  to  himself  or  to  the  world. 

When  we  urge  the  importance  of  moral  culture  in  schools, 
we  do  not  mean  that  the  teacher  should  deal  only,  or  often, 
in  long  moral  lectures.  We  would  remind  him,  that  exam- 
ple is  the  most  impressive  of  all  teachers  ;  and  that  he  can- 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  179 

not  live  and  move,  so  constantly,  in  the  presence  of  suscep- 
tible and  watchful  minds,  without  making,  by  his  deport- 
ment, a  deep  impression  on  their  characters.  We  would 
remind  him,  too,  that  there  are  various  sources  of  tempta- 
tion at  school ;  such  as  the  influence  of  one  or  more  corrupt 
companions ;  the  rivalries  and  contentions  to  which  the 
young  as  well  as  old  are  liable ;  the  absence  of  restraint 
during  play-hours,  and  while  children  are  passing  to  and  fro, 
between  the  schoolhouse,  and  the  home.  All  these  are 
points,  about  which  teachers,  and  all  who  take  an  interest  in 
schools,  or  who  feel  for  the  safety  and  welfare  of  their  own 
offspring,  can  hardly  be  too  solicitous,  or  too  vigilant. 

There  is  one  kind  of  moral  training  and  instruction,  little 
known  in  our  schools,  and  too  much  neglected  even  in  our 
families,  which  appears,  to  me,  pre-eminently  important.  It 
is  based  on  the  principle,  that  the  virtues  are  habits,  and  are 
to  be  acquired  thoroughly,  only  by  acting  repeatedly,  in  the 
right  manner,  from  the  right  motive.  To  cultivate  virtue  in 
this  way  requires,  not  so  much  formal  precepts  or  lectures, 
as  incidental  but  constant  inculcation.  Whenever  a  child 
does  wrong,  he  should,  in  the  kindest  and  most  private  man- 
ner, be  taught  to  feel  and  own  it ;  and  opportunity  should  be 
given  him,  to  act  on  the  opposite  principle.  In  all  his  rela- 
tions, whether  with  teachers,  parents,  schoolfellows,  or 
others,  he  should  be  accustomed  to  inquire,  always,  after 
the  right,  and  to  observe  it.  There  should  be  a  code  of 
school-morals,  to  embrace  thoughts  and  feelings  as  well  as 
overt  acts,  and  to  be  administered,  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  child's  own  conscience,  and  sense  of  honour.  With  in- 
junctions to  virtuous  effort,  should  be  joined  frequent  me- 
mentoes of  his  own  frailty  and  insufficiency,  and  of  the  ne- 
cessity of  Divine  aid  and  illumination.  In  administering 
the  discipline  of  the  school,  the  teacher  should  be  careful  to 
carry  with  him  the  moral  sense  of  his  pupils,  and  to  have  it 
felt,  that  he  will  punish  whenever  the  sanctity  of  law  arid 
the  welfare  of  the  school  demand  it,  but  never  otherwise. 


180  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

It  is  much  to  be  deplored,  that  principles,  so  obvious  and 
important  as  these,  should  have  come  to  be  so  generally  dis- 
regarded. No  one  imagines,  that  a  young  man  can  be  train- 
ed to  make  a  good  shoe  or  a  good  coat,  except  by  repeated 
trials,  and  persevering  effort.  Yet  we  do  seem  to  expect, 
that  he  will  be  a  calm  and  placable  man  who  has  been  only 
irascible  and  vindictive  as  a  boy.  We  do  forget,  that  in  one 
most  important  sense,  the  "  boy  is  father  of  the  man."  We 
seem  to  think  that,  though  his  youthful  mind  has  been  al- 
lowed to  revel  without  check  amid  images  of  shame,  he 
may  still  be  chaste  at  last ;  that  a  long  series  of  evasive, 
or  self-indulgent  or  criminal  acts,  may  only  end  in  honesty, 
temperance,  and  patience  ;  and  that,  though  he  sow,  through 
all  his  childhood  and  youth,  to  the  flesh,  still  it  need  not 
follow  that  he  must  of  the  flesh  reap  corruption. 


SECTION  III. 

PRESENT  STATE  OF  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 

"  In  proportion  as  the  discoveries  in  arts  multiply,  and  as  we  make 
progress  in  improvement,  in  like  proportion  ought  the  moral  and  in- 
tellectual condition  of  the  species  to  rise  ;  the  progress  of  civiliza- 
tion does  not  depend  alone  on  the  increase  of  wealth  ;  it  chiefly  de- 
pends on  the  improved  moral  and  intellectual  condition  of  the  popu- 
lation."— DE  GERANDO. 

IV.  WE  have  to  inquire,  in  the  next  place,  Avhether  our 
schools  tend  to  cultivate  good  intellectual  habits,  among  the 
rising  generation  ;  and  to  inspire  them  with  a  liberal  taste  for 
knowledge?  If  they  fail,  in  too  many  cases,  to  inculcate 
high  moral  principles,  and  to  cherish  refinement  of  thought, 
feeling,  and  manner,  they  ought,  at  least,  to  fulfil  the  one 
end  to  which  most  of  them  profess  to  be  devoted :  this  is 
the  development,  and  cultivation,  of  intellect.  During  a  pe- 
riod of  ten  or  more  years,  most  of  our  children  are  nomi- 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  181 

najly  at  school.  Does  their  proficiency  correspond  with 
the  opportunities,  which  they  seem  to  enjoy  ? 

It  is  now  many  years  since  Dr.  Dwight,  speaking  of  the 
common  schools  of  Connecticut,  declared  that  they  consu- 
med ten  years  in  teaching  badly  what  ought,  in  two,  or,  at 
most,  three  years,  to  be  learned  well.  More  recently,  the 
late  De  Witt  Clinton  thus  expressed  himself  in  one  of  his 
messages  :  "  Our  system  of  instruction,  with  all  its  numer- 
ous benefits,  is  still  susceptible  of  great  improvements. 
Ten  years,  of  the  life  of  a  child,  may  now  be  spent  in  a 
common  school.  In  two  years  the  elements  of  instruction 
may  be  acquired ;  and  the  remaining  eight  years  must  be 
spent  either  in  repetition  or  in  idleness,  unless  the  teach- 
ers of  common  schools  are  competent  to  instruct  in  the 
higher  branches  of  knowledge.  The  outlines  of  Geogra- 
phy, Mineralogy,  Agricultural  Chemistry,  Mechanical  Phi- 
losophy, Surveying,  Geometry,  Astronomy,  Political  Econ- 
omy, and  Ethics,  might  be  communicated  in  that  period 
of  time  by  able  preceptors,  without  essential  interference 
with  the  calls  of  domestic  industry." 

More  than  fifteen  years  have  elapsed  since  this  passage 
was  written,  and  it  may  be  well  to  inquire,  how  far  the  im- 
provements, it  suggests,  have  been  introduced.  I  would  re- 
mark, however,  that  no  child  should  be  advanced  to  higher 
branches  of  study,  until  he  has  been  made  perfectly  familiar 
with  those,  which  form  the  indispensable  groundwork  of  all 
knowledge.  The  leasf  that  can  be  demanded  of  any  com- 
mon school  is,  that  it  make  all  its  pupils  thoroughly  profi- 
cient in  reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  and  the  use  of  the 
English  language.  How  is  this  minimum  requirement  ful- 
filled, by  the  common  schools  of  this  state  ? 

The  reader  is  qualified  to  answer  this  question  for  him- 
self. He  is  surrounded,  by  the  young  of  both  sexes,  who 
are  leaving  these  schools,  and  who  are  never  more  to  enjoy 
their  advantages.'  In  the  daily  business  of  life,  he  meets 

Q 


182  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

those  who  have  had  no  other  scholastic  culture.  If,  then, 
he  would  know  what  our  common  schools  are  doing  for  the 
intellectual  education  of  our  people,  let  him  endeavour  to 
collect,  from  his  own  neighbourhood,  correct  replies  to  the 
following  interrogatories. 

What  proportion,  of  those  who  leave  these  schools,  or  are 
known  to  have  been  educated  at  them,  can  read  aloud  from 
any  book,  which  may  chance  to  fall  into  their  hands  ;  and 
can  do  it  so  fluently,  intelligently,  and  forcibly,  as  to  afford 
both  instruction  and  pleasure,  to  those  who  listen  ? 

What  proportion  of  them  have  acquired  the  power  of  wri- 
ting legibly  and  neatly,  and  are  able  to  express  themselves 
with  perspicuity,  propriety,  and  ease,  in  letters  of  business 
or  friendship,  and  in  other  documents  ? 

What  proportion  understand  thoroughly  the  most  impor- 
tant operations  of  arithmetic,  and  are  able  to  apply  the  rules, 
promptly  and  correctly,  to  any  questions  that  may  arise  in 
the  course  of  business  ? 

What  proportion  can  point  out,  readily,  the  location  of 
the  important  places,  of  which  they  are  likely  to  read  in  the 
newspapers  of  the  day,  or  in  books  of  voyages,  travels,  his- 
tory, &c.  ? 

What  proportion  are  even  moderately  versed,  in  the  his- 
tory of  their  own  country,  in  the  fundamental  principles  of 
its  government  and  legislation,  and  in  a  knowledge  of  such 
laws,  as  bear  most  directly  on  their  own  and  the  common 
welfare  ? 

Until  this  elementary  knowledge  is  thoroughly  mastered, 
it  would  be  absurd  to  proceed  to  higher  branches.  The 
latter  are  desirable  ;  the  former  indispensable.  Reading, 
writing,  and  arithmetic  are  implements,  without  which,  in 
the  present  state  of  society,  a  man  can  neither  do  business, 
nor  make  progress  in  self-education.  In  the  process  of  ac- 
quiring them,  his  mind,  if  properly  treated,  will  be  materi- 
ally strengthened  and  enlarged ;  and  when  once  acquired, 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  183 

they  render  it  both  possible  and  easy,  for  him  to  advance  in- 
definitely in  knowledge.  One  prevailing  defect,  of  the  ed- 
ucation of  the  present  day,  consists  ia  the  neglect  of  these 
rudiments.  Teachers  and  parents  are,  both,  too  apt  to  for- 
get, that  facts  or  principles  can  do  little  for  the  pupiPs  mind, 
if  they  are  enly  deposited  in  his  memory,  without  awaken- 
ing his  imagiKation  or  exercising  his  understanding.  Hence, 
without  waiting  to  ground  him  thoroughly  in  the  most  es- 
sential elements,  he  is  hurried  forward  to  studies  for  which 
he  is  wholly  unprepared,  and  which  often  require  the  exer- 
cise of  our  higher  faculties.  From  these,  again,  so  soon  as 
he  can  repeat  the  prescribed  portions  of  a  text-book,  he  is 
hurried  to  others,  equally  remote  from  his  tastes  or  prelimi- 
nary studies  ;  and  thus  his  whole  education  is  made  to  con- 
sist, of  a  hasty  and  superficial  survey  of  many  subjects, 
which  are  no  sooner  dismissed,  than  they  are  forgotten. 

Sometimes,  this  prevailing  and  injurious  practice  is  to  be 
ascribed  to  tfae  teacher  alone,  who  does  not  seem  to  know 
that  such  attainments  are  worthless ;  or  who,  if  he  does 
-know  it,  is  careless  of  his  pupil's  welfare,  and  only  intent  oa 
the  honour,  which  he  hopes  to  gain,  from  having  accomplish- 
ed so  much,  with  his  classes,  in  so  brief  a  space  of  time. 
Happy  will  it  be,  when  the  intelligence  of  the  community 
enables  them  to  discern  the  dishonesty,  and  quackery  of 
such  a  system.  It  is  but  just,  however,  to  add,  that  in 
many  cases  the  fault  is  in  parents,  and  their  children.  Say 
the  visitors  of  one  of  the  counties  (1840),  "  Our  common 
schools  are  not  advancing  in  proportion  to  their  cost.  One 
reason  is,  that  the  children  do  not  fully  understand  what 
they  profess  to  learn.  The  system  is  to®  superficial.  Pu- 
pils are  eager  to  have  it  said,  '  We  have  been  through  the 
book.'  This  expression  has  been  made  use  of  to  us  in  sev- 
eral instances,  when,  at  the  same  time,  the  scholars  could  not 
answer  questions  in  the  most  fundamental  rules.  If  schol- 
ars make  a  favourable  report  of  progress,  parents  are  very 


164  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

apt  to  receive  it  as  correct  without  examination,  and  the 
teacher  who  wishes  to  check  this  disposition  to  advance  with- 
out knowledge,  is  very  liable  to  incur  the  displeasure  of  both 
pupil  and  parent." 

But,  in  whatever  way  this  abuse  originates,  it  is  deeply  to 
be  deplored,  and  it  ought  to  be  strenuously  resisted.  No- 
thing can  well  be  more  unfavourable,  to  all  true  and  high 
culture  of  the  intellect.  In  so  far  as  it  leaves  its  victims 
ignorant,  or  unaccomplished,  in  regard  to  the  very  first  rudi- 
ments of  knowledge,  it  disqualifies  them,  by  necessity,  for 
all  thorough  and  rapid  progress,  in  more  advanced  studies. 
It  also  induces  loose  and  inaccurate  habits  of  investigation  ; 
and  these  habits,  being  acquired  early,  are  in  most  cases 
invincible  ;  proving  fatal  to  thorough  scholarship,  and  to  in- 
tellectual efforts  of  the  most  useful  and  commanding  char- 
acter. It  tends,  moreover,  to  engender  a  spirit  of  self-suffi- 
ciency  in  the  young,  and  a  feeling  of  satiety  in  regard  to 
books  and  mental  cultivation,  which  are  wholly  incompati- 
ble with  self-culture.  "  There  is  nothing,"  says  Erasmus, 
in  one  of  his  Colloquies,  "  more  pernicious  than  to  be  glut- 
ted with  anything  ;  and  so  likewise  with  knowledge."  "  I 
hate,"  says  Dr.  Johnson,  "  by-roads  in  education.  Endeav- 
ouring to  make  children  prematurely  wise  is  useless  labour. 
Suppose  they  have  more  knowledge  at  five  or  six  years 
old  than  other  children,  what  use  can  be  made  of  it  ?  It 
will  be  lost  before  it  is  wanted,  and  the  waste  of  so  much 
time  and  labour  of  the  teacher  can  never  be  repaid.  Too 
much  is  expected  from  precocity,  and  too  little  performed." 

It  is  difficult  to  say,  whether  the  evil,  here  referred  to,  be 
more  inveterate,  or  prevalent.  A  wordy,  superficial  rote- 
method  of  teaching  and  learning,  may  be  regarded  as,  at  this 
time,  the  great  and  special  bane  of  our  common  schools. 
That  there  are  many  honourable  exceptions,  I  know  well. 
But  in  too  many  cases,  text-books  are  relied  on  to  do  the 
work  of  the  teacher  ;  and  hence  these  books  have  been  sim- 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  185 

Alined,  and  furnished  with  questions,  and  encumbered  with 
commentaries,  as  if  the  great  object,  were,  to  supersede  all 
•effort,  on  the  part  both  of  instructor  and  learner.  In  this 
way,  too,  that  active  and  ardent  collision  of  mind  between 
the  two,  which  forms  the  secret  of  all  good  intellectual  in- 
struction, comes  to  be  hardly  known.  The  pupil  studies 
words,  not  principles  ;  tasks  his  memory  much,  his  judg- 
ment little  ;  and  a  foolish  ambition  to  have  it  said,  that  much 
ground  has  been  passed  over,  or  many  branches  pursued, 
usurps  the  place  of  that  true  ambition,  which  aims  a,t  a  rad-- 
ical  and  thorough  culture  ;  one  that  draws  out,  disciplines, 
vivifies,  and  strengthens,  all  the  faculties  of  the  soul.  Such 
•a  culture  may  impart  less  knowledge,  but  it  will  be  found 
to  make  that  which  it  imparts,  the  pupil's  own  forever  ;  and 
it  will,  at  the  same  time,  give  such  a  spring  to  the  intellect* 
ual  powers,  as  to  ensure  future  advancement. 

I  ought,  perhaps,  in  closing  this  subject,  to  add,  that,  so 
soon  as  a  child  has  mastered  the  common  branches,  so  that 
he  reads,  both  aloud  and  mentally,  with  ease  arid  under* 
standing,  writes  a  good  hand,  and  is  familiar  with  the  most 
important  processes  in  arithmetic,  he  ought  to  be  advanced 
to  other  studies.  The  great  fault,  at  present,  is,  that  he  Is 
advanced  too  soon;  takes  up  many  branches  before  he  is 
prepared  for  them ;  and  pursues  too  great  a  number,  at  the 
same  time.  The  result  is,  that  his  mind  is  distracted  5  no 
one  of  them  is  studied  thoroughly  ;  one  text-book  having 
been  despatched,  another,  perhaps  on  the  same  subject,  is 
introduced  ;  and  the  child  is,  in  effect,  occupied  during  most 
of  his  school  life,  in  retracing  ground  over  which  he  has 
already  travelled— doing  it,  however,  in  such  a  manner,  that 
his  interest  is  deadened,  his  powers  of  discrimination  im- 
paired, and  his  mind  fixed,  and  almost  petrified,  in  habits  of 
torpid  and  vacant  listlessness.  The  concurrent  testimony 
of  those  who  have  examined  common  schools  most  exteo 
Q  2 


186  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

sively  and  thoroughly,  both  in  our  own  and  other  states, 
represents  that,  in  very  many  cases, 

1.  They  fail  to  teach  even  the  common  branches  thor- 
oughly. 

2.  They  engender,  or  encourage,  loose  and  superficial 
habits  of  thought,  and  study. 

3.  They  fail  to  inspire  a  love  for  the  reading  of  good  and 
useful  books. 

4.  The  pupils,  in  many  instances,  continue  stationary,  from 
year  to  year. 

IRREGULARITY    OF   ATTENDANCE,  ABSENCE,  &C. 

V.  The  last  great  requisite  in  our  common  school  sys- 
tem, is,  that  its  benefits  should  be  enjoyed,  by  all  the  children 
of  the  state,  not  otherwise  instructed.  Though  the  best  pos- 
sible schools  were  opened,  in  every  neighbourhood,  they 
would  be  useless  to  those  who  never  attend,  and  of  but  par- 
tial service,  to  those  who  attend  irregularly.  There  are 
many  children  of  both  classes  in  this  state. 

Of  those  who  never  attend.  This  class  includes  children 
of  both  foreigners,  and  natives.  The  former,  usually  arrive 
in*  this  country,  poor.  Many  of  them  are  unable  to  speak 
our  language  ;  some  of  them  do  not  appreciate  the  necessity 
and  importance  of  education  ;  others  lead  a  vagrant  life,  as 
labourers  on  canals  and  railroads,  or  as  hired  workmen.* 

*  The  children  of  persona  employed  upon  our  public  works,  saya 
the  secretary  of  the  Massachusetts  Board  of  Education,  in  a  late 
report,  heretofore  have  not  shared  in  the  provisions  for  education 
made  by  our  laws,  and  have  rarely  been  embraced  in  any  of  the  nu- 
merous plans  for  moral  improvement  devised  and  sustained  by  pri- 
vate charity ;  and  hence  they  have  been  growing  up  in  the  midst 
of  our  institutions,  uninstructed  even  in  those  rudiments  of  knowl- 
edge without  which  self-education  is  hardly  practicable.  Dunng 
the  last  year,  a  few  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Middlefield 
(which  is  situated  in  the  western  part  of  Hampshire  county),  com- 
miserating tke  destitute  condition  of  the  children  along  the  line  of 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  187 

In  some  of  these  cases  it  is  impossible  to  make  an  English 
common  school  available.  More  frequently,  however,  the 

the  railroad  in  their  vicinity,  took  active  measures  to  supply  them 
with  the  means  of  instruction.  A  gentleman  of  that  town,  Mr.  Al- 
exander Ingham,  was  the  first  to  engage  in,  and  has  been  most  ac- 
tive in  carrying  on  this  Samaritan  enterprise.  The  good  example 
extended,  and  a  considerable  number  of  children  along  the  line  of 
work  were  soon  gathered,  either  into  the  public  schools,  or,  where 
that  was  impracticable,  into  schools  established  expressly  for  them 
at  private  expense.  At  the  Common  School  Convention  in  the 
county  of  Hampden,  held  in  the  month  of  August  last,  the  condition 
of  these  children,  and  the  necessity  of  some  farther  measures  in 
their  behalf,  constituted  one  of  the  topics  of  inquiry  and  discussion. 
A  committee  was  appointed,  of  which  Mr.  Ingham  was  chairman,  to 
collect  the  facts  of  the  case.  From  this  committee  I  have  learned 
that  there  were,  in  the  month  of  September  last,  more  than  three 
hundred  children,  between  the  ages  of  four  and  sixteen,  belonging 
to  the  labourers  on  the  railroad  west  of  Connecticut  River,  who 
were  not  considered  as  entitled  to  the  privileges  of  the  public 
schools,  or  were  in  such  a  local  situation  as  not  to  be  able  to  attend 
them.  ,.A  pregnant  fact,  also,  in  relation  to  the  subject  is,  that,  in 
the  enumeration  'of  all  the  children  of  all  ages  belonging  to  that 
class  of  people,  "  a  large  proportion  of  them  are  under  the  age  of 
four  years."  Owing  to  efforts  since  made  by  private  individuals,  a 
very  large  majority  of  all  these  children  who  are  of  a  suitable  age 
are  now  enjoying  the  benefits  of  common  school  education. 

There  is  still  another  class,  says  the  late  secretary  of  the  Con- 
necticut Board  of  Education,  who  are  among  the  absentees  from 
schools :  I  refer  to  coloured  children.  There  is  no  reluctance  to 
include  them  in  the  enumeration  return.  Why,  then,  should  not 
the  district,  or  society,  or  city  authorities,  see  to  their  education  1 
Their  education  would  be  cheaper  to  the  community  than  their 
crimes  and  vices,  which  are  the  offspring  of  neglect  and  ignorance. 
While  the  blacks  constitute  but  one  twentieth  of  our  population, 
they  furnish  about  one  eighth  of  all  the  crime  of  the  state.  It  costs 
the  state  annually,  to  prosecute  and  convict  the  coloured  inmates 
of  the  prison  alone,  a  sum  suSicient  to  educate  nearly  all  the  col- 
oured children  of  the  state  between  the  ages  of  four  and  sixteen. 
Separate  schools  for  this  class  of  children  exist  in  Hartford,  and 
•perhaps  elsewhere  They  should  be  opened  in  all  our  large  citiea. 


188 

difficulty  results  from  the  inability,  or  indifference  of  pa* 
rents,  and  the  culpable  negligence  of  the  community.  It 
ought  to  be  considered  the  duty  of  some  one,  to  search  out 
such  forlorn  arid  unhappy  children,  and  bring  them  to  the 
notice,  as  well  of  the  trustees  of  the  school  districts  in 
which  they  respectively  reside,  as  to  that  of  benevolent  in- 
dividuals. The  children  of  temporary  or  transient  residents 
are  entitled,  by  law,  to  attend  the  school  in  their  respective  dis- 
tricts ;  and  it  is  even  made  the  duty  of  trustees,  whenever 
it  shall  be  necessary  for  their  accommodation,  to  hire  tem- 
porarily, an  additional  room  or  rooms  for  that  purpose.  This 
duty  is  imposed  on  the  trustees,  because  they  are  author- 
ized, by  the  same  law,  to  include  all  such  transient  children 
in  their  returns ;  and  to  draw  money  from  the  treasury  of 
the  state,  for  their  instruction.  It  is  superfluous  to  add,  that 
this  money  ought  to  be  regarded  as  a  sacred  trust,  held  for 
their  exclusive  benefit,  and  to  be  diverted  to  no  other  ob- 
ject. Too  often,  however,  the  poor  foreigner,  or  labourer 
on  the  canal,  remains  ignorant  of  this  benevolent  provision 
of  the  state  in  his  behalf;  and  when,  in  other  cases,  he 
would  avail  himself  of  it,  obstructions  are  sometimes  placed 
in  his  way,  lest,  in  consequence  of  the  presence  of  his  poor 
children  in  the  school,  the  expenses  of  the  wealthy  inhab- 
itants should  be  slightly  increased.  When  we  exclude  them 
under  such  circumstances,  is  it  considered  that  we,  in  effect, 
appropriate  to  our  own  use  what  is  not  ours,  having  been 
given  simply  as  a  deposite  for  the  stranger  and  the  destitute  ? 
The  children  of  many  native,  and  other  citizens,  are  also 
to  be  found  among  those,  who  never  attend  school.*  In  too 

There  is,  I  should  think,  power  enough  already  in  the  school  socie- 
ties to  do  this.  If  not,  for  these  and  other  purposes,  cities  should 
be  clothed  with  the  power  of  school  societies. 

*  "  Next  to  our  cities,  the  largest  number  of  children  not  in  at- 
tendance on  any  school,  public  or  private,  is  found  in  the  districts 
in  which  are  located  factories  and  manufacturing  establishments. 


THE    feCHOOLMASTER.  .  189 

many  instances,  this  results  from  the  profligate  habits  of  the 
parents,  who  are  wholly  regardless  of  the  welfare  of  their 
offspring  ;  in  other  cases,  it  should  be  charged  to  an  igno- 
rance which  cannot  comprehend  the  advantages  of  educa- 
tion ;  and  in  others,  again,  to  extreme  indigence,  which  dis- 
ables a  parent  from  providing  proper  clothes,  or  renders  the 
presence  and  assistance  of  the  child  necessary  to  the  sup- 
port of  the  family.  In  ordinary  oases  of  indigence,  it  ought 
to  be  understood,  that  the  law,  as  it  now  stands,  recognises  the 
RIGHT  of  every  poor  child,  to  share  in  the  instruction  imparted 
ly  common  schools.  Of  this  right,  every  parent  should  feel, 

The  comparative  cheapness  of  the  labour  of  females  and  of  chil- 
dren, where  it  can  be  resorted  to  at  all,  has  led  to  its  extensive  in- 
troduction into  factories,  to  the  exclusion,  as  far  as  possible,  of  the 
more  costly  labour  of  men.  From  a  statement  in  a  report  to  the 
Legislature  of  Massachusetts  a  few  years  since,  it  appeared  that 
more  than  200,000  females  are  employed  in  the  various  manufac- 
turing establishments  of  the  United  States.  Most  of  this  number 
are  young  ;  many  are  still  of  the  proper  school  age.  In  this  single 
fact  are  involved  considerations  of  the  most  weighty  character  as 
to  the  influence  of  such  establishments,  which  have  grown  up  all 
about  us,  and,  from  the  peculiar  advantages  of  Connecticut,  are 
likely  to  increase  still  farther,  upon  the  future  destinies  of  the  state 
and  the  country.  One  thing  is  clear,  from  the  experience  of  the 
past,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  that  about  such  establishments  will 
always  be  gathered  a  large  number  of  parents  who,  either  from  de- 
fective education  in  themselves,  or  from  the  pressure  of  immediate 
want,  or  from  the  selfishness  which  is  fostered  by  finding  profitable 
employ  for  their  children,  do  not  avail  themselves  of  the  means  of- 
fered by  the  state,  and  not  unfrequently  increased  by  the  liberality 
of  the  proprietors,  to  secure  an  j  education  for  their  children.  In 
addition  to  these  influences,  the  self-interest  of  proprietors  is  a 
temptation  constantly  operating  to  withdraw  children  of  both  sexes 
at  too  early  an  age  from  the  schoolroom  to  the  employment  of  the 
factories,  which,  if  always  healthful,  are  not  the  proper  training- 
ground  for  the  moral  and  mental  habits  of  the  future  men  and 
women  of  the  state." — Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion in  Connecticut. 


190  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

himself  bound,  as  well  as  entitled,  to  take  advantage.  If  he 
can  pay,  wholly  or  in  part,  his  spirit  as  a  free  and  a  Chris- 
tian man  should  constrain  him  to  do  it ;  but  if  he  cannot, 
let  him  know,  that  the  trustees  of  the  district  are  obliged,  by 
law  to  exempt  him,  and  to  levy  the  necessary  amount,  as  a  tax 
on  the  property  of  that  district.  And  it  ought  to  be  consid- 
ered a  sacred  duty  of  trustees,  to  administer  this  law  in  its 
true  spirit,  and  to  use  their  influence  to  bring  every  child 
within  their  bounds,  to  share  its  blessings.  These  children 
will  presently  be  men  and  women  ;  their  influence  will  be 
felt  in  families — in  the  operations  of  industry — at  the  polls. 
Let  all,  then,  who  are  charged  by  the  state  with  the  care 
of  common  schools,  and  all  who  feel  that,  as  individuals, 
they  owe  something  to  their  country  and  the  world,  see  to 
it,  that  these  children  are  trained  up  in  the  way  that  they 
should  go,  that  when  they  are  old  they  may  not  depart 
from  it. 

These  various  causes  cannot  tut  exclude  vast  numbers  of 
children  from  our  schools.  It  was  recently  estimated,  by  the 
Superintendent  of  Common  Schools  of  this  State,  that  in  the 
city  of  New- York  alone,  there  are  more  than  thirty  thousand 
children,  who  go  to  no  school  at  all.  Similar  estimates  have 
been  made  in  regard  to  other  cities,  and  villages  throughout 
the  state,  and  it  has  been  found,  that  a  proportion  of  the  chil- 
dren of  these  places,  varying  from  one  third  to  one  tenth,  seem 
destitute  of  all  visible  means  of  education.  It  is  not  supposed, 
that  such  calculations  can  be  received  with  implicit  confi- 
dence. In  some  instances  the  evil  has  doubtless  been  ex- 
aggerated ;  in  others,  the  important  fact  has  been  overlook- 
ed, that  children  kept  from  school  at  one  season,  or  in  one 
year,  may  attend  in  another,  and  that,  in  the  present  state 
of  public  opinion,  few  children  are  likely  to  grow  up,  in  our 
country,  without  some  scholastic  instruction.  Still  it  must 
be  admitted,  that  the  records  of  our  jails  and  prisons  do  show 
a  fearful  proportion,  who  are  unable  to  read  and  write.  The 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  191 

late  census,  likewise,  disclosed  the  astounding  fact,  that  in 
some  counties  of  this  state,  as  many  as  one  out  of  every  ten 
adult  inhabitants  (in  one  county  it  was  one  out  of  every  five) 
could  neither  read  nor  write.  It  is  computed,  that  five  thou- 
sand boys,  of  a  proper  age  to  attend  school,  are  employed, 
on  the  Erie  and  Hudson  Canal,  as  drivers  during  eight 
months  of  the  year,  and  it  is  supposed  that  few  of  them  at- 
tend school  at  all.*  If  to  these,  we  add  the  children  who 
are  employed  in  manufactories,  and  the  offspring  of  foreign- 
ers recently  arrived  in  the  country,  or  speaking  a  different 
language,  or  engaged  on  public  works ;  and  if  to  these,  we 
add,  again,  those  whose  parents  are  too  depraved,  or  too  in- 
different, or  too  poor  to  send  them  to  school,  we  shall  have 
a  vast  and  fearful  aggregate,  who  are  growing  up  without 
any  proper  culture.  Ability  to  read,  some  of  them  may  ac  • 
quire,  by  attending  a  Sunday  School  occasionally  ;  but  how 
meager  is  such  instruction,  when  compared  with  the  wants 
of  the  citizen,  the  Christian,  and  the  man. 

2.  Those  who  attend  irregularly.  It  must  be  apparent,  on 
slight  reflection,  that  the  best  schools  can  do  little  for  those 
who  are  frequently  absent.  By  such  absences,  a  child  for- 
feits his  standing  in  his  class,  and  is  disqualified  from  ad- 
vancing with  the  requisite  speed  and  accuracy.  He  forms 
habits  of  irregularity,  and  soon  becomes  listless  or  discour- 
aged. His  absences  tend,  also,  to  disorganize  the  school, 
and  to  add,  grievously,  to  the  labours  and  vexations  of  the 
teacher.  One  needs  not  be  surprised,  then,  if,  where  the  at- 
tendance of  scholars  at  school  is  not  only  suspended,  for 
some  months  each  year,  but  is  extremely  irregular  at  other 
times,  that  in  such  cases,  the  proficiency  is  very  slight. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that,  until  lately,  the  great  impor- 
tance of  this  subject,  seems  to  have  been  overlooked.  In 
the  returns  of  school  officers,  no  distinction  was  made  be- 
tween the  total,  and  the  average,  attendance ;  the  whole 

*  It  is  said  that  three  thousand  of  these  boys  are  orphans ! 


192  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

number  registered,  throughout  the  year,  being  reported  as  at- 
tendants. Some  of  these  might  have  been  present  but  a  few 
days  ;  others  but  a  few  weeks ;  and  others,  again — having 
entered,  withdrawn,  and  entered  a  second,  or  even  a  third 
time  within  the  same  year — might  be  returned  twice  or 
thrice  over.  In  this  way,  the  returns  have  been  swelled, 
until  the  number  reported  as  at  school  has,  in  several  in- 
stances, been  greater  than  the  whole  number  of  children 
between  the  ages  of  5  and  16  in  the  state,  and  this,  though 
many  thousands  were  known  to  be  in  select  schools  and  acad- 
emies ;  and  though  thousands,  besides,  entered  no  school- 
house  at  all.  By  the  same  means,  the  average  nominal  pe- 
riod, during  which  common  schools  have  been  kept  open,  was 
extended  to  eight  months,  though  it  is  not  believed,  that  the 
average  attendance  of  the  scholars  exceeded  half  that  time. 
Within  the  last  few  years,  a  corrective  has  been  applied,  in 
some  of  the  states,  by  adopting  a  new  form  of  making  re 
ports,  and  in  all,  public  attention  has  been  directed  to  the 
necessity  of  producing  greater  regularity.* 

I  quote  from  the  last  school  returns  of  Massachusetts,  to 
show  the  magnitude  of  the  evil,  in  that  state.  Say  the 
school  committee  of  a  large  and  populous  town,  "  Although 
able  teachers  have  been  employed,  the  school  registers,  ac- 
curately kept  through  the  summer  and  winter  terms,  show 
an  average  daily  attendance  which  is  less  than  one  half 
of  the  whole  number  of  scholars."  Say  the  committee  of 
another  town,  "  The  school  registers  have  brought  to  light 
one  of  the  most  prominent  evils  which  exist  in  our  schools, 

*  In  the  State  of  New- York,  trustees  of  school  districts  will  be 
required  to  report,  hereafter,  "  the  number  of  pupils  who  have  at- 
tended for  a  term  less  than  two  months  in  each  year  ;  the  number 
attending  two  and  less  than  four  months  ;  the  number  attending 
four  and  less  than  six  months  ;  the  number  attending  six  and  less 
than  eight  months ;  the  number  attending  eight  and  less  than  ten 
months ;  and  the  number  attending  twelve  months."— See  Statutes 
relating  to  Common  Schools,  $-c.,  p.  148. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  193 

and  which  has  existed  from  time  immemorial,  and  which 
would  have  remained  undiscovered,  or  been  but  partially  re- 
vealed,probably,  for  years, if  not  centuries,  but  for  the  aid  of 
that  .or  of  some  similar  contrivance.  They  have  disclosed 
the  astounding  fact  that,  even  in  this  town,  a  little  more 
than  one  fourth  part  of  the  money  raised  for  the  support  of 
schools  is  annually  lost,  actually  thrown  away,  and  has  been 
so  for  years.  It  is  found,  by  consulting  these  registers, 
that  the  average  attendance  of  the  scholars,  in  all  the  schools, 
is  a  fraction  less  than  three  fourths  of  the  whole  number  of 
scholars  belonging  to  the  schools,  which  shows  that  a  fraction 
more  than  one  fourth  part  of  the  time  allowed  for  the  culti- 
vation of  the  minds  of  our  children,  and,  consequently,  the 
same  proportional  part  of  the  school  money,  is  squandered 
away  by  the  irregular  attendance  of  the  scholars.  If  we 
extend  these  inquiries  to  other  towns,  through  the  state,  we 
find  that  the  proportion  materially  increases,  and,  in  the 
whole,  taken  collectively,  it  exceeds  one  third.  For  out  of  a 
little  more  than  477,000  dollars,  raised  for  the  support  of 
schools  in  the  state,  more  than  200,000  dollars  are  annual- 
ly directly  thrown  away  by  this  voluntary  abandonment  of . 
privileges.  But  this  enormous  waste  of  money  is  but  an 
atom  in  the  scale  when  weighed  against  the  opportunities 
neglected  which  can  never  be  recalled.  Nor  is  this  the  ex- 
tent of  the  evil :  whenever  any  scholar  unnecessarily  ab- 
sents himself  from  the  school,  or  is  unnecessarily  detained 
by  his  parents,  not  only  is  so  much  of  his  time  lost,  and  (as 
it  regards  him)  so  much  of  the  school  money  is  lost,  but 
the  whole  school  suffers,  by  the  interruption,  in  the  arrange- 
ment and  progress  of  the  class." 

It  appears,  then,  that  in  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  more 
than  one  third  of  the  whole  number  of  scholars  are  absent, 
on  an  average,  each  day.  If  such  is  the  fact,  and  it  seems 
verified  by  precise  and  authentic  returns,  the  absences  in 
the  State  of  New- York  must  form  a  still  greater  propor- 

R 


194  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

tion.  All  the  causes  which  can  operate  in  Massachusetts 
to  produce  irregular  attendance,  exist  here,  and,  in  addition 
to  them,  there  is  another  and  powerful  cause,  which  oper- 
ates, probably,  in  no  other  state.  There,  the  parent  pays 
alike,  whether  his  child  be  present  or  absent ;  here,  he  pays 
only  when  he  is  present.  The  teacher  is  required,  by  law, 
to  keep  an  exact  record  of  the  number  of  days  and  half 
days  that  each  child  attends,  not  for  the  purpose  of  enabling 
the  inspectors,  superintendent,  and  public  to  know  how  far 
parents  and  children  avail  themselves  of  the  advantages  of 
school,  but  that  the  teacher  may  know  how  much  shall  be 
deducted  from  each  employer's  rate-bill  on  account  of  ab- 
sences. In  this  way  a  premium  is,  by  law,  actually  offered 
to  the  parent  to  induce  him  to  detain  his  children  from  school, 
or  to  gratify  them  when  they  wish  to  stay  away.  Nor  this 
alone.  As  though  it  were  not  enough,  to  subject  a  teacher 
to  the  inconvenience  and  pecuniary  loss,  which  he  incurs 
by  this  arrangement,  he  is  himself  compelled  to  keep  a  rec- 
ord of  it,  for  the  benefit  of  the  parent.  It  is  difficult  to  con- 
ceive a  more  preposterous  law.  As  a  rule,  no  private 
>  school  would  tolerate  it ;  and  if,  in  Massachusetts,  where  it 
is  happily  unknown,  the  average  absentees  of  each  day  form 
more  than  one  third  of  the  whole  number  of  scholars  on 
record,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that,  in  this  state,  under  the 
fostering  hand  of  such  a  law,  they  must  have  swelled  to  at 
least  one  half. 

We  have  thus  reviewed  the  condition,  and  character  of 
our  common  schools.  We  have  endeavoured,  to  ascertain 
the  influence  which  they  are  likely  to  exert  on  health,  man- 
ners, and  morals,  as  well  as  on  intellectual  improvement. 
It  has  been  our  anxious  desire,  neither  to  exaggerate,  nor  to 
extenuate,  the  evils  which  prevail.  As  we  remarked  at  the 
outset,  such  general  statements  must  be  qualified  in  favour 
of  many  instances,  in  which,  teachers  are  capable  and  faith- 
ful, school-officers  are  vigilant,  and  parents  both  liberal  and 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  195 

attentive.  It  must  be  admitted,  too,  that,  with  all  their  im- 
perfections, these  schools  still  do  render  unspeakable  ser- 
vice, by  affording,  to  our  entire  population,  some  opportuni- 
ties for  instruction.  It  is  to  be  considered,  farther,  that  oui 
institutions,  and  the  state  and  prospects  of  our  country,  exert 
an  animating  influence  on  the  minds  of  our  people,  which  is 
felt  powerfully  everywhere,  and  which  renders  the  most 
imperfect  instruments  more  efficient  and  useful  with  us,  than 
they  could  be  under  older  or  less  popular  governments.  If 
tried  by  a  strict  scholastic  test,  it  may  be  doubted,  whether 
our  common  schools  are  greatly  in  advance  of  those  which 
were  spread  over  the  states  of  Germany  when  Frederic  the 
Great  first  undertook  the  work  of  their  regeneration  ;  a 
work  which  has  been  advancing  ever  since,  with  the  high- 
est success.  There  can  be  no  question,  however,  that  their 
usefulness  is  immeasurably  greater. 

Qur  present  common  school  system  was  established, 
something  more  than  twenty-five  years  since.  The  effect 
of  it  has  been,  to  add  immensely  to  the  number  of  schools, 
as  well  as  to  diminish  the  expense  of  the  people  in  sup- 
porting them.  It  is  sometimes  suggested,  however,  that 
this  system  has  not  contributed,  in  the  same  proportion,  to 
improve  the  character  and  efficiency  of  our  schools,  and  that 
in  these  respects  they  have,  in  fact,  deteriorated.  On  this 
point,  various  opinions  are  advanced  by  the  special  visiters 
before  referred  to.  In  the  estimation  of  some  of  them,  the 
schools  are  decidedly  less  thorough  in  their  methods  of 
teaching,  and  secure  less  actual  proficiency,  than  they  did 
twenty  years  ago.  In  the  opinion  of  others,  they  are  more 
advanced,  and  have  been  improving  rapidly,  especially,  for 
the  last  four  or  five  years. 

It  is  believed  that  both  of  these  opinions  are  in  a  degree 
iorrect,  and  that  they  will  be  found  less  discordant  than 
they  appear  to  be  at  first  sight.  The  immediate  effect  of 
the  establishment  of  common  schools  by  law,  in  1815,  was 


196  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

a  great  and  sudden  increase  in  their  number,  requiring  an 
increase  equally  sudden  and  great,  in  the  number  of  teach- 
ers. This  sudden  demand  was  of  course  supplied,  in  the 
first  instance,  by  persons  but  poorly  qualified  ;  and  the  evil 
was  afterward  perpetuated,  by  the  unnecessary  multiplica- 
tion of  school  districts,  which  had  the  twofold  effect  of  ex- 
tending the  demand  for  teachers  too  rapidly,  and  of  so  de- 
pressing the  rate  of  wages,  that  none  but  persons  of  inferior 
qualifications  could  be  obtained.  Another  serious  evil, 
which  at  first  resulted  from  the  interposition  of  the  state, 
was  a  great  diminution  of  interest  on  the  part  of  parents,  and 
other  citizens.  So  long  as  the  support  and  supervision  of 
the  schools  was  left  entirely  to  them,  they  felt  the  necessity 
of  care,  in  selecting  teachers,  and  in  overlooking  their  pror 
ceedings.  When  the  law,  however,  provided  for  the  ap- 
pointment of  inspectors,  and  for  the  partial  support  of 
schools,  employers  naturally  concluded,  that  less  vigilance 
on  their  part  would  be  sufficient.  It  ought,  therefore,  to 
have  been  expected,  that  the  introduction  of  this  system 
would  tend,  in  the  first  instance,  to  depress  the  standard  of 
teaching,  though  it  might  secure  the  extension  of  its  blessr 
ings  to  all  the  inhabitants. 

Had  this  result  been  foreseen,  it  might  have  been  pro- 
vided for.  As  this,  however,  was  not  the  case,  it  is  appre- 
hended that  most  persons  who  have  had  occasion  to  com- 
pare the  state  of  common  schools  in  1822-6,  with  what  they 
were  previous  to  1814,  must  have  observed  some  degree  of 
deterioration.  When  this  deterioration  became  apparent, 
it  led,  in  the  first  instance,  to  the  establishment  of  se- 
lect schools,  which,  though  they  gave  relief  to  a  few  of  the 
more  wealthy  inhabitants,  tended  still  farther  to  depress 
common  schools,  and  thus  to  fasten  the  evils  of  a  bad  sys- 
tem on  the  community,  in  a  manner  which  seemed  at  one 
time  to  defy  remedy.  Within  the  last  few  years,  however, 
the  necessity,  and  practicability  of  some  reform,  has  been 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  197 

growing  more  and  more  apparent.  Enlightened  citizens 
have  discovered,  that  good  schools  are  important,  not  only  to 
their  own  families,  but  to  all ;  that  common  schools  will  al- 
ways be  preferred  by  most  of  the  inhabitants ;  that  it  is 
therefore  of  the  utmost  consequence  that  they  should  be 
good  schools  ;  and  that  this  can  be  the  case,  only  when  they 
unite  in  their  support  the  wealth,  respectability,  and  intelli- 
gence of  the  whole  district.  Hence  select  schools  are  de- 
creasing ;  parents  and  employers  bestow  more  care  in  the 
choice  of  a  common  school  teacher ;  more  liberality  is 
evinced  in  constructing  schoolhouses,  and  defraying  the 
expenses  of  instruction  ;  and  much  more  personal  attention 
is  given  to  the  character  and  operations  of  the  school,  and  to 
its  influence  on  the  young.  It  must  be  admitted,  however, 
that  the  progress  of  this  auspicious  change  has  hitherto 
been  slow,  and  that  its  influence  now  is  lamentably  circum- 
scribed. 

I  proceed  to  inquire  how  it  can  be  made  general. 


SECTION  IV. 
HOW  CAN  COMMON  SCHOOLS  BE  IMPROVED  ? 

"  When,  therefore,  \ve  attempt  to  construct  institutions  of  educa- 
tion for  the  countless  youth  of  centuries  still  to  come,  we  enter  on 
a  task  full  of  solicitude  and  responsibility,  but  full,  also,  of  hope  and 
promise." — WHEWELL. 

To  be  able  to  answer  this  question  fully,  we  ought  to  as- 
certain the  precise  causes  of  the  evils  which  we  seek  to 
remedy.  It  is  believed  that  they  may  be  included  under 
the  following  heads  :  I.  Want  of  interest  on  the  part  of  pa- 
rents and  others.  II.  Frequent  change  of  teachers.  III. 
Excessive  multiplication  of  school  districts.  IV.  Diversity 
of  class-books.  V.  Teachers  not  qualified.  VI.  Defective 
supervision.  We  propose  to  examine  each  of  these  in  their 
R  2 


198  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

order,  and  to  endeavour  to  point  out  the  appropriate  correc- 
tives. 

I.  Want  of  interest  on  the  part  of  parents,  &c. — This  is 
doubtless  the  sorest  evil,  with  which  we  are  called  to  con- 
tend. Indifference  and  neglect,  on  the  part  of  those  who 
ought  to  feel  the  most  lively  concern  for  the  welfare  of  our 
schools,  cannot  fail  to  chill  the  zeal  of  all  other  persons. 
Neither  teacher,  nor  scholar,  nor  trustees  can  be  expected 
to  labour  with  ardour  and  perseverance,  when  they  find  no 
sympathy  where  they  have  the  best  right  to  expect  it. 
This  apathy  manifests  itself  in  many  ways  :  in  the  prefer- 
ence which  is  so  frequently  given  to  the  poorest  teachers, 
provided  only  that  they  are  the  cheapest ;  in  permitting 
children  to  be  irregular  in  their  attendance  ;  in  the  neglect 
of  parents  to  visit  the  school,  that  they  may  know  whether 
the  teacher  understands  his  duty  and  discharges  it ;  in  omit- 
ting such  examination  of  the  children  at  home  as  will  ani- 
mate them  to  greater  diligence,  and,  at  the  same  time,  reveal 
the  true  degree  of  their  proficiency ;  in  allowing  the  schools 
to  be  closed  for  a  large  part  of  each  year  ;  in  opposing  ev- 
ery plan  which  involves  an  increase  of  expense  or  efficien- 
cy ;  and,  finally,  in  encouraging  a  contentious  spirit  among 
the  employers,  and  a  want  of  respect  towards  the  teacher. 

It  would  seem,  at  first,  as  if  no  man  could  have  the  least 
sense  of  the  importance  of  schools,  or  of  his  duty  towards 
them,  who  gives  his  countenance  to  any  one  of  these  prac- 
tices. Charity,  however,  requires  us  to  admit,  that  in  some 
cases,  this  may  be  owing  to  ignorance,  or  inconsideration. 
All  persons  do  not  know  that  schools  may,  in  some  cases, 
be  useless — in  others,  a  positive  nuisance.  They  usu- 
ally feel  that  education  is  very  desirable,  and,  in  the  present 
state  of  the  world,  even  necessary.  They  have  built  a 
schoolhouse,  provided  it  with  a  teacher,  supplied  their  chil- 
dren with  books,  and  enjoined  their  attendance  ;  and  it  nev- 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  199 

er  occurs  to  many  of  them,  that  more  can  be  necessary. 
When  they  propose  to  raise  a  crop  of  good  marketable 
wheat,  they  are  very  careful  to  get  the  best  seed,  to  see 
that  the  ground  is  carefully  prepared  to  receive  it,  to  have  it 
deposited  after  the  most  approved  manner,  and  to  guard  the 
young  plant,  at  every  stage  of  its  growth,  against  noxious 
animals  and  every  hostile  influence.  They  trust  no  work- 
man, who  is  unacquainted  with  his  business,  and  omit  no  pre- 
caution which  can  secure  them  against  tyss  or  injury.  It 
is  not  possible  that  these  men  would  refuse  to  apply  the 
same  care  to  the  training  of  their  children,  if  they  felt  it  to 
be  necessary.  They  do  not  feel  this.  They  say  that  their 
children  are  at  school,  and  that  they  intend  to  keep  them 
there.  They  have  yet  to  learn  that  all  this  maybe  without 
benefit ;  that  morally  they  may  become  worse  at  school ; 
that  even  their  intellectual  tastes  and  habits  may  degenerate, 
and  their  prospects  in  life  only  be  shrouded  in  deeper  gloom. 
What,  then,  is  the  remedy  for  this  evil  ?  It  must  be  found, 
in  a  full  and  free  discussion,  before  the  people,  of  the  claims 
of  common  schools.  Every  means  must  be  invoked  by 
which,  on  other  subjects,  men  are  enlightened  and  aroused. 
The  press  must  be  made  to  speak ;  not  that  portion  of  it 
only  which  is  especially  devoted  to  schools,*  but  the  daily 
and  weekly  press ;  also  the  magazine  and  the  review. 
Meetings  must  be  convened  in  every  town  and  neighbour- 
hood, at  which  those  who  have  hearts  to  feel,  and  minds  to 
comprehend  the  vastness  of  this  theme,  may  give  utterance 
to  their  convictions.  Arrangements  must  be  made,  to  have 
these  meetings  recur  frequently,  and  to  secure  the  presence 
of  those,  whose  opinions  command  respect  and  attention.! 

*  The  District  School  Journal,  edited  by  Francis  Dwight,  Esq., 
and  published  at  Albany,  under  the  supervision  of  the  Superintend- 
ent of  Common  Schools,  should  be  read  and  circulated. 

t  The  following  remarks  (from  the  last  report  of  the  secretary  of 
the  Massachusetts  Board  of  Education)  on  the  influence  of  these 


200  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

Every  individual  who  appreciates  at  all  the  magnitude  of 
the  subject,  must  endeavour  to  fill  his  mind  with  impressive 

meetings,  and  on  the  relative  advantages  of  town  and  county  con- 
ventions, are  worthy  of  consideration :  "  These  annual  county 
meetings,  which  have  now  been  held  for  five  successive  years  in 
the  counties  of  the  state,  have  been  eminently  useful  in  diffusing 
information  as  to  a  better  system  of  school  district  organization, 
better  modes  of  instruction,  and  so  forth.  Especially,  by  bringing 
the  sympathy  of  numbers  to  bear  upon  individuals,  they  have  diffu- 
sed a  spirit,  and  created  an  energy,  more  worthy  of  a  cause  which 
carries  so  much  of  the  happiness  of  the  community  in  its  bosom. 
But  it  seems  to  me  that  the  mode  of  operation  heretofore  pursued 
may  now  be  modified  with  evident  advantage. 

"  To  explain  my  views  in  regard  to  the  most  eligible  course  for 
the  future,  it  will  be  necessary  to  recur  for  a  moment  to  the  prac- 
tice of  the  past.  At  the  county  conventions,  a  considerable  portion 
of  the  day  has  usually  been  spent  in  discussing  such  topics  as  were 
deemed  most  intimately  connected  with  the  welfare  of  the  schools 
in  the  section  of  country  where  the  meetings  were  respectively  held. 
All  persons  present  have  been  invited  to  participate  in  the  proceed- 
ings. Questions  have  been  freely  put,  and  replies  given.  On  these 
occasions  I  have  always  been  requested  to  deliver  an  address  in  the 
course  of  the  day,  and  have  never  felt  at  liberty  to  decline  the  invi- 
tation. I  have  also  invariably  held  myself  ready  to  answer  such 
inquiries,  and  to  meet  such  suggestions  as  might  be  proposed  ;  but 
the  friends  of  education  assembled  from  the  vicinity  have  always 
been  consulted  as  to  the  topics  for  discussion,  and,  through  the  me- 
dium of  a  committee,  have  generally  proposed  them.  Out  of  a  gen- 
eral similarity  of  circumstances  and  of  objects  has  naturally  arisen 
a  considerable  degree  of  uniformity  in  the  modes  of  proceeding ; 
and  it  is  with  the  sincerest  pleasure  that  I  bear  witness,  that  at  all 
times,  and  in  all  places,  the  greatest  harmony  has  prevailed.  I  do 
not  mean  that  opinions  have  always  coincided,  but  that  different 
views  have  been  presented  in  an  amicable  spirit ;  and  it  has  often- 
times happened  that  some  modified  course,  some  third  measure, 
has  been  elicited,  better  than  either  of  those  originally  suggested. 

"  Such  has  been  the  common  mode  of  proceeding,  the  advantages 
of  which  have  been  clearly  discovered  in  regard  to  those  towns  and 
districts  which  have  been  most  regularly  and  fully  represented  at 
the  meetings.  In  regard  to  a  considerable  number  of  towns,  an 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  201 

facts  and  arguments,  and,  as  he  goes  abroad,  scatter  the 
good  seed  by  the  wayside,  in  the  field,  at  the  market-place, 

entire  reform  in  their  schools  has  been  distinctly  traceable  to  the 
fact  that  a  few  of  their  most  worthy  aad  influential  inhabitants  had 
been  present  at  one  of  these  conventions ;  and,  having  listened  to  the 
counsels,  or  been  inspired  by  the  zeal  of  their  fellow-citizens  from 
other  towns,  have  returned  home  to  diffuse  the  information  they 
have  obtained,  and  to  animate  others  with  the  spirit  they  have 
caught. 

"  But  the  benefits  of  this  course  are  too  limited.  It  has  served 
the  purpose  of  exciting  an  interest,  but  it  will  not  consummate  the 
work  of  reform.  Except  in  some  half  dozen  or  dozen  cases,  the 
conventions  have  lasted  but  a  single  day.  Persons  coming  from 
any  considerable  distance  desire  to  leave  at  an  early  hour,  that  they 
may  return  home ;  and,  as  some  time  is  necessarily  spent  in  organ- 
ization and  in  preliminary  arrangements,  the  day  is  shortened  at 
both  ends.  Unlike  most  other  conventions,  too,  these  are  attended 
by  ladies,  whose  paramount  influence  in  the  cause  of  education 
renders  their  presence  exceedingly  desirable ;  and  this  is  another 
reason  for  dissolving  the  meetings  at  an  early  hour.  In  addition  to 
this,  most  of  the  counties  are  too  large,  in  point  of  territory,  to  allow 
persons  whose  residence  is  remote  from  the  respective  places  of 
meeting,  to  go  and  return  on  the  same  day,  although,  in  some  of 
the  counties  whose  territory  is  greatest,  there  are  individuals  who 
have  never  failed  of  being  present  at  them.  It  may  be  said,  indeed, 
that  other  conventions,  abolition  or  political,  are  attended  by  per- 
sons who  traverse  half  the  length  of  the  state  for  the  purpose ;  that 
they  are  continued  for  two  or  more  days ;  or,  if  held  but  for  one, 
that  the  meeting  is  prolonged  by  borrowing  many  hours  from  the 
night.  But,  as  an  answer  to  this,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 
cause  of  education — the  cause  of  ransoming  our  own  children  from 
the  bondage  of  ignorance  and  vice — the  cause  which  is  not  merely 
to  affect,  but  to  control  their  destiny,  and  that  of  the  Republic, 
through  all  future  time — has  not  yet  aroused  that  degree  of  enthu- 
siasm which  will  gather  crowds  of  people  from  distant  places,  and 
hold  them  together  for  days  in  succession,  while  they  descant  upon 
their  own  virtues  and  denounce  the  wickedness  of  their  opponents 

"  But  the  best  minds  in  our  community  have  been  reached. 
What  is  now  wanting  is  to  reach  another  class  of  persons,  numeri- 
cally greater,  but  having  less  appreciation  of  the  value  of  education, 


202  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

and  in  the  shop.  Each  one  must  remember  that  he  can  do 
something  for  this  good  work,  and  that  what  he  can  do,  Tie 
is  bound  to  do.  Especially,  in  his  own  district  or  town,  ought 
each  one  to  give  his  whole  influence  towards  the  diffusion 
of  sound  views,  and  the  introduction  of  a  wiser  and  more 
liberal  policy. 

II.  Frequent  change  of  teachers. — This  is  a  subject  of  al- 
most universal  complaint.  The  evil  arose,  at  first,  from  the 
fact  that  schools  were  kept  open  but  a  part  of  each  year ; 
and  more  recently,  it  has  resulted,  from  the  prevailing  prac- 
tice of  hiring  male  teachers  in  winter,  and  females  in  sum- 
mer. Another  cause,  which  has  contributed  to  this  perni- 
cious practice,  is  the  change  which  is  annually  made  in  the 
government  of  the  school.  By  law,  new  trustees  are  required 
to  be  elected  once  in  twelve  months,  and  these,  being  often 
chosen  on  the  principle  of  rotation,  are  either  wholly  inex- 
perienced in  the  duties  of  the  office,  or  ignorant,  at  least,  of 
the  policy  of  their  predecessors,  and  of  the  reasons  which 
induced  them  to  adopt  particular  measures.  In  many  cases, 
too,  they  are  anxious  to  propitiate  persons  who  have  been 
disaffected,  or  to  secure  some  sinister  object,  and  hence  the 
system  is  changed  and  teachers  are  dismissed. 

It  is  impossible  to  overrate  the  evils  of  such  a  course. 
The  business  of  education  is  essentially  progressive.  It 

and  less  knowledge  of  the  means  by  which  it  should  be  conducted. 
This  class  of  persons  0*0  not  attend  the  county  conventions,  either 
from  a  lack  of  interest  in  the  general  subject,  or  because  the  dis- 
tance is  too  great,  or  because  the  conventions  are  held  in  the  day- 
time, which  they  appropriate  to  lanbur.  But  many  of  this  class 
would  attend  such  a  meeting  in  their  own  town,  especially  if  held 
'in  the  evening.  What  seems  to  be  desirable  now  is  frequent  meetings 
in  smaller  sections  of  territory,  that  sounder  views  and  a  livelier  interest 
may  be  carried  to  the  doors  of  those  who  will  not  go  abroad  to  obtain 
them.  Such  has  been  the  course  pursued  from  the  beginning  in 
Connecticut,  whose  laws  oivjjhe  subject  have  been,  in  many  re- 
spects, very  similar  to  our  owir" 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  203 

i 

consists  of  a  series  of  processes,  the  later  always  depending 
upon  die  earlier,  and  requiring,  therefore,  to  be  conducted, 
within  certain  limits,  on  the  same  principles,  and  by  the 
same  methods.  But,  in  the  present  state  of  our  schools, 
hardly  any  two  teachers  have  the  same  methods.  No  op- 
portunity is  afforded  the  one  who  succeeds  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  state  of  the  school,  and  with  the  methods  of 
his  predecessor,  by  actual  observation.  The  one  has  gone, 
before  the  other  arrives.  He  enters  the  school,  a  stranger  to 
the  children  and  to  their  parents,  unacquainted  with  the  rel- 
ative propensity  and  aptitude  of  the  different  scholars,  ig- 
norant of  the  course  which  was  pursued  by  former  teachers, 
and  with  the  prospect,  probably,  of  retiring  himself,  at  the 
end  of  three  or  four  months.  Is  it  not  evident,  that  the  prog- 
ress of  the  school  must  be  arrested,  until  he  can  learn  his 
position  1  As  each  teacher  is  apt  to  be  tenacious  of  his 
own  system,  is  it  not  also  evident  that,  after  having  arrested 
the. work  which  his  predecessor  began,  he  will,  in  many 
cases,  proceed  to  undo  it?  Thus  the  children  will  often 
spend  the  whole  period  of  his  stay,  in  retracing  their  studies 
in  a  new  book,  or  according  to  a  new  method.  There  will 
be  movement,  but  no  progress. 

The  effect,  on  the  teacher,  must  be  equally  bad.  This 
practice  makes  him,  in  truth,  little  better  than  a  vagrant. 
He  can  have  no  fixed  residence,  since  the  period  for  which 
he  engages  is  never  over  a  year,  and  rarely  over  four 
months  ;  and  even,  in  these  cases,  it  is  liable  to  be  curtailed 
by  the  caprice  of  his  employers  or  the  arbitrary  interference 
of  the  trustees.  He  of  course  cannot  marry.  He  has  little 
ambition  to  form  a  character ;  his  employment  occupies 
•without  improving  him  ;  and,  in  most  cases,  he  either  has- 
tens to  leave  it,  or  becomes  a  contented  but  useless  drone. 
Can  we  wonder  that  there  are  few  good  teachers  under 
such  a  system  ? 

Is  there  any  remedy  for  such  an  evil  ?     We  believe  there 


204  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

is.  The  apology  for  this  constant  change  is,  that  the  dis- 
trict cannot  support  a  good  male  teacher,  throughout  the 
year.  They  must  either  close  the  school  during  summer, 
or  have  it  taught  by  a  female.  Then,  we  say,  let  it  be 
taught  by  a  female,  throughout  the  year.  The  sum  which  is 
now  divided  between  the  two  teachers  would  pay  a  female 
handsomely  for  the  whole  year,  and  would  thus  supersede 
the  necessity  of  closing  the  school  at  all,  except  for  a  vaca- 
tion of  three  or  four  weeks.* 

The  advantages  of  this  course  would  be  various.  1st.  It 
would  give  to  the  scholars  the  advantage  of  having  the 
same  instructress  throughout  one  entire  year  at  least ;  and, 
if  she  proved  worthy  of  the  charge,  she  could  hardly  fail, 
during  that  time,  so  to  enlist  the  affections  of  the  children, 
the  good-will  of  the  parents,  and  the  confidence  of  the  trus- 
tees, as  to  be  secure  of  a  renewed  engagement.  Thus  we 
should  gradually  return  to  the  good  old  practice  of  perma- 
nent schools  under  permanent  instructors. 

2d.  It  would  be  a  cheap  system.  The  best-qualified  fe- 
male teachers,  in  common  schools,  would  be  glad  to  accept 
what  is  now  paid  to  men  of  the  poorest  capacity. 

3d.  It  would  secure  teachers  of  higher  intellectual  capa- 
city and  qualification.  Women  have  a  native  tact  in  the  man- 
agement of  very  young  minds,  which  is  rarely  possessed  by 

*  Suppose  a  male  teacher  is  employed  four  months  at  $25  per 
month,  including  board,  a  female  for  four  months  at  $12  50  per 
month.  The  whole  expense  for  teachers'  wages  would  be  $150,  and 
the  school  would  be  kept  open  but  eight  months  out  of  twelve. 
Apply  the  same  sum  to  a  female  teacher  at  $12  50  per  month,  and  it 
would  keep  the  school  open  during  every  day  of  the  year.  Pay  her 
$15  per  month,  which  is  the  least  that  a  good  female  teacher  ought 
to  receive,  and  this  sum  would  sustain  the  school  for  ten  months, 
which  is  probably  sufficient,  since  children  ought  to  have  occasional 
vacations  of  considerable  length.  Employ  her  but  eight  months 
and  pay  her  but  $12  50  per  month,  and  there  would  bs  a  saving  to 
the  district  of  $50  annually. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  205 

men.  The  prospect,  also,  of  permanent  employment,  at  a 
fair  rate  of  compensation,  would  induce  many  young  wom- 
en of  narrow  means  to  prepare  themselves  for  teaching ; 
and  it  will  hardly  be  disputed,  that,  with  limited  opportuni- 
ties as  to  time  and  money,  they  would  make  greater  profi- 
ciency in  knowledge  and  in  the  art  of  teaching,  than  young 
men  having  only  the  same  opportunities.  It  should  be  con- 
sidered, also,  that  the  prospect  of  profitable  employment 
would  awaken  competition,  and  in  this  way  higher  quali- 
fications would  be  secured. 

4th.  It  would  furnish  a  desirable  resource,  and  a  useful  as 
well  as  respectable  mode  of  life,  to  many  females,  who  are 
cast  upon  the  world  without  property. 

5th.  It  would  conduce  to  the  improvement  of  manners  and 
morals  in  schools,  since  females  attach  more  importance  to 
these  than  men  ;  and  they  have  a  peculiar  power  of  awaken- 
ing the  sympathies  of  children,  and  inspiring  them  with  a 
desire  to  excel. 

6th.  It  would  diminish  the  number  of  select  schools,  since 
many  of  these  are  taught  by  women,  whose  services  would 
then  be  required  in  common  schools ;  and  these  schools 
would  also  be  less  necessary,  than  at  present,  for  very 
young  children. 

But  can  you  propose,  seriously  (some  one  will  say),  that 
timid  and  delicate  women  should  retain  charge,  through  the 
winter,  of  country  schools,  in  which  large  and  rude  boys 
are  congregated  ?  This  forms  the  only  objection,  which 
can  be  plausibly  urged  against  this  plan,  and  it  is  one  which 
deserves  full  and  respectful  consideration.  I  would  re- 
mark in  regard  to  it, 

1 .  That  it  is  by  no  means  so  formidable,  as  it  might  ap- 
pear at  first  thought.  It  is  now  admitted,  that  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  schools,  moral  influence  should  be  substituted, 
as  far  as  possible,  in  place  of  mere  coercion,  and  that  cor- 
poral punishment  should  be  reserved  for  young  children, 

S 


206  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

and  be  applied  but  very  rarely  even  to  them.  It  is  admit- 
ted, too,  that  the  teacher  ought  to  aim,  first  of  all,  to  culti- 
vate the  higher  sentiments  of  our  nature,  to  awaken  self- 
respect,  and  to  induce  the  child  to  become  a  law  to  himself. 
If  this  be  true  (and  few  will  be  disposed  to  question  it), 
then  it  must  follow  that  women  are,  in  most  respects,  pre- 
eminently qualified  to  administer  such  a  discipline.  Their 
very  delicacy  and  helplessness  give  them  a  peculiar  claim 
to  deference  and  respectful  consideration  ;  and  this  claim 
large  boys,  who  are  aspiring  to  be  men,  can  hardly  fail  to 
recognise.  I  need  not  add,  that  they  are  honourably  dis- 
tinguished from  the  other  sex  by  warm  affections,  by  great- 
er faith  in  human  nature,  and  in  its  capacity  for  good,  and 
by  disinterested  and  untiring  zeal  in  behalf  of  objects  that 
they  love.  Says  the  present  chief  magistrate  of  this  state, 
"  He,  it  seems  to  me,  is  a  dull  observer,  who  has  not  learn- 
ed that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  Creator  to  commit  to 
them  a  higher  and  greater  portion  of  responsibility  in  the 
education  of  youth  of  both  sexes.  They  are  the  natural 
guardians  of  the  young.  Their  abstraction  from  the  en- 
grossing cares  of  life  affords  them  leisure  both  to  acquire 
and  communicate  knowledge.  From  them  the  young  more 
willingly  receive  it,  because  the  severity  of  discipline  is 
relieved  with  greater  tenderness  and  affection,  while  their 
more  quick  apprehension,  enduring  patience,  expansive  be- 
nevolence, higher  purity,  more  delicate  taste,  and  elevated 
moral  feeling,  qualify  them  for  excellence  in  all  departments 
of  learning,  except,  perhaps,  the  exact  sciences.  If  this  be 
true,  how  many  a  repulsive,  bigoted,  and  indolent  profess- 
or will,  in  the  general  improvement  of  education,  be  com- 
pelled to  resign  his  claim  to  modest,  assiduous,  and  affec- 
tionate woman.  And  how  many  conceited  pretenders,  who 
may  wield  the  rod  in  our  common  schools,  without  the 
knowledge  of  human  nature  requisite  for  its  discreet  exer- 
cise, too  indolent  to  improve,  and  too  proud  to  discharge 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  207 

4 

their  responsible  duties,  will  be  driven  to  seek  subsistence 
elsewhere."* 

This,  however,  is  no  longer  a  subject,  for  speculation  and 
conjecture.  The  experiment  has  been  tried.  It  was  com- 
menced, some  four  years  since,  in  the  State  of  Massachu- 
setts, and  has  been  continued,  with  constantly  increasing 
success,  down. to  this  tune.  The  annual  reports  of  the 
Board  of  Education  during  that  period  have  exhibited  a  rapid 
increase  in  the  proportion  of  female  teachers  ;  and  the  last 
report  shows,  that  the  increase  of  female  teachers,  during 
the  preceding  year,  had  been  more  than  four  times  greater 
than  that  of  males.  Of  the  whole  number  of  teachers 
(6600)  employed  in  the  common  schools  of  Massachusetts 
during  the  year  1841,  nearly  two  thirds  were  females ;  and 
with  what  success  many  of  them  conducted  winter  schools 
will  appear  from  the  following  extracts  from  the  returns  : 
"  In  two  of  our  schools,"  say  the  school  committee  of  the 
town  of  Boylston,  "  the  West  and  the  Centre,  we  have  tried 
the  experiment,  this  year,  of  employing  fesudes  to  teach  our 
winter  schools ;  and  we  feel  confident  in  saying  that  it  is  no 
disparagement  to  those  who  have  had  the  charge  of  these 
schools  in  wintlrs  past,  to  say  that  we  have  never  known 
them  to  be  more  ably  managed,  more  successfully  govern- 
ed, or  more  faithfully  instructed.  The  scholars  have  made 
all  the  proficiency  that  we  could  have  expected  under 
teachers  of  the  other  sex.  The  large  scholars  have  uni- 
formly in  the  West  school,  and  generally  in  the  Centre,  been 
more  cheerfully  submissive  to  the  rules  and  regulations  of 
the  school  than  in  former  winters,  when  these  schools  have 
been  under  the  instruction  of  male  teachers." 

"  We  are  not  prepared  to  say  that  it  would  be  advisable 
to  dispense  with  male  teachers  altogether  in  our  winter 
schools,  but  we  are  satisfied  that  female  teachers  might  be 

*  Discourse  on  Education,  delivered  at  Westfield,  July  26,  1837, 
fry  Wm.  H.  Seward. 


208  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

employed  to  a  far  greater  extent  than  they  have  hitherto 
been,  without  any  detriment  to  our  schools.  And,  by  adopt- 
ing  this  course,  our  schools  might  be  lengthened  one  fourth 
or  one  half." 

Say  the  school  committee  of  the  town  of  Petersham, 
"  Four  of  our  winter  schools  were  taught  by  females,  and 
without  any  disparagement  to  the  young  gentlemen  teach- 
ers, some  of  whom  did  very  well,  yet  justice  compels  us  to 
say,  that  the  schools  taught  by  females  during  the  past  win- 
ter have  made  as  good  progress  as  those  taught  by  males. 
And  it  is  not  too  much  to  say,  that  the  school  Avhich  made 
decidedly  the  best  appearance  at  the  close,  was  taught  by 
a  young  lady." — "  It  is  frequently  the  case,  that  large  and 
turbulent  boys,  whom  it  was  quite  difficult  for  men  to  gov- 
ern by  severe  means,  have  been  won  into  good  behaviour 
by  the  gentle  treatment  of  a  female  teacher." 

Say  the  school  committee  of  the  town  of  Brimfield : 
"  The  winter  schools,  eleven  in  number,  were  taught  by 
five  males  and  six  females.  To  say  nothing  in  disparage- 
ment of  those  under  the  care  of  males,  we  hazard  the  opin- 
ion that  those  taught  by  females  will  suffer  nothing  in  com- 
parison. Indeed,  to  some  of  these  we  are  constrained,  in 
justice,  to  give  the  preference  before  any  and  all  others." 

"  Some  have  objected  to  female  teachers  for  the  winter 
schools' on  the  ground  that  the  large  scholars  would  not  be 
willing  to  submit  to  female  authority  and  dictation,  and 
hence  that,  on  the  score  of  government,  we  might  expect 
trouble.  But,  so  far  as  the  experience  of  the  last  winter 
goes,  this  objection  is  removed.  It  has  been  just  as  we  al- 
ways supposed,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  would  be 
the  fact,  viz.,  that  the  older  scholars,  and  especially  the 
young  men,  would  have  too  much  self-respect  and  regard 
for  the  feelings  of  a  kind,  amiable  female  teacher,  to  allow 
them  unnecessarily  to  wound  her  tender  sensibilities.  Now 
it  is  a  fact,  that  in  four  schools  taught  by  females,  we  have 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  209 

found  older  scholars  than  in  any  taught  by  males.  In  three 
of  these  schools  we  found  young  men  from  eighteen  to 
twenty-one  or  two,  and  in  every  instance  in  the  most 
perfect  state  of  subordination,  treating  their  teacher  with 
great  deference  and  respect,  and  yielding  with  perfect  good 
feeling  to  all  her  wishes.  We  have  heard  not  a  breath  of 
complaint,  as  it  regards  the  conduct  of  the  older  scholars  in 
particular,  except  in  one  instance,  and  that  was  the  case  of 
a  very  ignorant,  and,  one  should  say,  a  very  foolish  boy, 
who,  though  nineteen  or  twenty,  could  scarcely  read,  and 
who,  it  was  said,  went  to  school,  not  to  learn,  but  to  make 
disturbance.  We  cannot  forbear,  in  general,  to  bestow  the 
highest  encomiums  on  the  conduct  of  the  older  scholars, 
especially  of  the  young  men,  who  have  attended  the  several 
schools  taught  by  females."  The  committee  proceed  to 
state,  that  they  found  the  female  teachers  quite  as  well  vers- 
ed as  the  males  in  the  higher  branches  of  mathematics ; 
that  they  used  the  black-board  more,  and  with  greater  suc- 
cess, in  the  exercises  of  the  school ;  that  they  were  more 
ingenious  in  "  introducing  little  devices  calculated  to  ani- 
mate and  encourage  children,"  and  to  relieve  the  monotony 
of  school  exercises  ;  and  that  they  were  more  attentive  to 
cleanliness  and  good  manners,  and  more  successful  in  ma- 
king good  readers. 

2.  Wherever  the  winter   school  is  too  large,  or  it  is 
thought  inexpedient,  on  some  other  account,  to  intrust  it  al- 
together to  females,  a  male  teacher  might  be  employed,  for 
the  express  purpose  of  taking  charge  of  the  larger  and  more 
advanced  scholars,  who  attend  only  at  that  season ;  the  fe- 
male being  retained  as  an  associate  or  assistant  teacher. 
In  this  way,  unnecessary  changes  would  be  avoided,  and 
the  benign  influence  of  the  gentler  sex  in  schools  would  be- 
come permanent,  and  be  secured  to  that  class  of  children, 
especially,  who  most  need  it. 

3.  There  is  another  expedient,  now  frequently  adopted 

S2 


210  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

in  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  which  seems  to  meet 
completely,  though  in  a  somewhat  different  way,  the  objec- 
tion to  female  teachers,  founded  on  their  supposed  inability 
to  manage  large  boys.  It  consists,  in  establishing,  at  some 
point  which  will  be  convenient  and  central  for  three  or  four 
districts,  a  Union  or  High  School,  to  be  open,  in  most  ca- 
ses, only  in  winter,  and  to  be  frequented  only  by  scholars 
so  advanced  in  age  that  they  can  go  a  considerable  distance 
from  home,  and  so  far  versed  in  the  rudiments  of  learning 
that  they  need  instruction  in  higher  branches.  These 
schools  might  be  taught  by  males ;  the  common  district 
schools  being  left  to  females,  and  being  frequented  only  by 
young  children.  The  advantages  of  this  plan  will  be  more 
obvious,  when  we  come  to  the  discussion  of  the  next  topic. 
III.  Unnecessary  multiplication  of  school  districts. — This 
has  become  a  sore  evil.  In  1815,  when  the  system  was 
organized,  the  whole  state  contained  but  two  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  fifty-six  districts.  These  have  since  been  divi- 
ded and  subdivided,  till  they  number,  now,  ten  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  sixty-nine.  As  population  became  more  dense, 
there  was  some  reason  for  reducing  the  larger  districts,  in 
which  the  schoolhouse  was  too  remote  to  be  frequented,  by 
the  smaller  children  of  those  inhabitants  who  lived  on  the  out- 
skirts. It  may  be  doubted,  however,  whether  even  this  con- 
sideration is  entitled  to  all  the  weight  which  is  usually  con- 
ceded to  it ;  since,  in  the  country,  where  children  have  am- 
ple space  to  play  in,  and  various  resources  and  occupations 
of  a  domestic  character,  much  is  often  lost  to  health,  and 
nothing  gained  to  character  or  intellect,  by  sending  them 
prematurely  to  school.  Admitting,  however,  the  utmost  that 
can  be  claimed  for  this  argument,  it  will  only  follow,  that 
school  districts  should  be  multiplied  as  population  increases, 
in  the  more  sparsely  settled  parts  of  the  state.  Where  the 
territorial  extent  of  a  district  is  not  unreasonably  large,  a 
mere  increase  of  population  would  form  no  sufficient  ground 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  211 

for  dividing  it.  In  point  of  fact,  however,  the  process  of 
subdivision  has  gone  on  over  the  whole  state  ;  and  this,  too, 
not  only  as  fast  as  the  increase  of  population,  but  much  fast- 
er ;  the  number  of  school  districts  having  increased,  since 
1815,  in  a  nearly  fivefold  ratio,  while  the  population  has  not 
trebled.  The  consequence  is,  that  the  number  of  inhabitants, 
in  each  district,  is,  on  an  average,  materially  less,  than  it  was 
when  the  system  was  established. 

The  average  population  in  each  district  is  about  230  ;  the 
average  number  of  children  between  5  and  16,  55 ;  and  the 
average  extent  of  territory,  four  square  miles,  or  two  miles 
square.  If  the  schoolhouse  occupies  a  central  position,  the 
greatest  distance  which  any  child  has  to  travel  will  be  less 
than  one  mile  and  a  half,  and  the  greatest  number  of  schol- 
ars who  can  be  expected  to  attend,  on  an  average  (after 
deducting  those  who  go  to  select  and  other  schools),  will 
not  be  over  thirty-five.  The  present  average  rate  of  attend- 
ance appears,  from  the  reports  of  the  visiters  in  1840  and 
1841,  to  be  less  than  thirty-five.  It  must  be  evident,  that 
such  a  school  is  not  sufficiently  large  to  fully  occupy,  or  re- 
munerate the  services  of  a  first-rate  teacher ;  and  hence,  in- 
stead of  multiplying  districts  still  farther,  as  is  often  the 
disposition  at  present,  it  is  very  important  to  diminish 
their  number.  It  is  justly  observed  by  the  secretary  of  the 
Massachusetts  Board  of  Education,  in  his  last  report,  that 
"  there  is  but  one  class  of  persons  in  the  whole  communi- 
ty, and  that  class  not  only  small  in  number,  but  the  least 
entitled  to  favour,  who  are  beneficially  interested  in  the  es- 
tablishment of  small  and  feeble  districts!  This  class  con- 
sists of  the  very  poorest  teachers  in  the  state,  or  of  those 
who  emigrate  here  from  other  states  or  countries  in  quest 
of  employment  as  teachers,  who  are  willing  to  teach  for 
the  lowest  compensation,  and  for  whose  services  even  the 
lowest  is  too  high.  These  teachers  may  safely  look  upon 
the  small  and  feeble  districts  as  estates  in  expectancy. 


212  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

Such  districts,  having  destroyed  their  resources  by  dividing 
them,  must  remain  stationary,  from  year  to  year,  amid  sur- 
rounding improvement ;  and  hence,  being  unable  to  com- 
mand more  valuable  services,  they  will  be  compelled  to 
grant  a  small  annual  pension  to  ignorance  and  imbecility, 
and  this  class  of  teachers  stands  ready  to  be  their  pen- 
sioners." 

This  subdivision  of  districts  not  only  deteriorates  the 
standard  of  instruction,  it  adds  also  to  its  expensiveness.  If 
two  districts  are  established,  where  one  would  be  sufficient, 
two  buildings  must  be  erected  and  kept  in  repair,  and  two  fires 
supplied  with  fuel,  and  two  teachers  maintained,  where,  one 
of  each  would  answer  the  same  ends.  Suppose  that  a  space 
of  four  square  miles,  the  average  size  of  our  school  districts 
at  present,  contains  a  population  of  450  souls,  of  whom 
from  90  to  100  are  children,  between  the  ages  of  five  and 
sixteen.  The  average  number  attending  school  would,  in 
summer,  be  about  fifty,  and  about  sixty-five  in  winter.  If, 
now,  instead  of  having  two  feeble  districts,  two  poor  school- 
houses,  and  two  indifferent  teachers,  there  were  to  be  but 
one  district,  with  a  good  and  commodious  edifice,  and  an 
efficient  teacher,  no  child  would  be  required  to  travel  far- 
ther than  would  conduce  to  good  health,  and  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  the  instruction  and  influence  would  be  much 
more  salutary.  How  would  it  be  with  the  relative  expense 
of  the  two  systems  1 

I.  With  two  districts,  under  the  present  system,  there 
would  be  a  female  teacher  for  four  months  in  summer,  and 
a  male  for  the  same  period  in  winter. 

The  annual  expense  would  be,  say, 

Interest  on  cost,  of  twu  »uhoolhouses  ($400  each)  at  7  per  cent.     .  $56  00 

Wear  and  tear,  and  repairs  of  two  houses 2000 

Fuel,  <fec.,  for  two  houses 20  00 

Wages  of  two  female  teachers,  four  months,  at  $12       .        .        .  96  00 

"           male  leathers,  four  months,  at  $24  ....  192  00 

Incidental 10  00 

$39400 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  213 

II.  With  one  district,  there  might  be  a  female  teacher 
throughout  the  year  or  for  ten  months,  with  the  addition  of 
a  good  male  instructer,  for  three  or  four  months  in  winter. 
The  annual  expense  on  a  liberal  plan  would  be,  say, 

Interest  on  cost  of  one  good  schoolhouse  ($600)      ....  $4200 

Wear  and  tear,  <fcc.    .      *  ,     : 15  00 

Fuel,  &c.          .        .        .                 . 15  00 

Wages  of  female  teacher,  ten  months,  at$  10         ....  15000 

"         male  teacher,  four  months,  at  $30 120  00 

Incidentals  10  00 


$352  00 

If  the  male  teacher  were  dispensed  with,  the  whole  annual 
expense  would  be  but  $232.  If  a  male  were  employed  for 
ten  months  without  a  female,  at  $30,  even  then  the  expense 
would  be  but  $382,  so  that  the  present  system  is  not  only 
the  least  efficient  and  useful,  but  also  the  least  economical 

The  process  of  uniting  two  or  more  adjacent  districts,  or 
of  forming  two  out  of  three,  ought  to  be  commenced  at  once, 
and  it  might  be  carried  on,  through  our  smaller  villages,  and 
the  more  thickly-settled  rural  districts,  with  the  greatest 
advantage.  A  law,  authorizing  it,  has  recently  passed  the 
legislatures  of  this  and  adjoining  states,  and  it  is  believed 
that,  in  New- York,  the  whole  number  of  districts  might  be 
reduced  one  third  without  material  inconvenience  to  any, 
and  with  the  greatest  benefit  to  all.  The  number  of  teach- 
ers in  demand  would  thus  be  reduced,  while  the  rate  of 
compensation  might  be  increased  without  adding  to  the 
burdens  of  the  people  ;  and  thus  the  facilities  for  obtaining 
good  instructers  would  be  multiplied,  in  a  twofold  ratio. 
The  schools,  being  larger,  would  admit  of  a  more  thorough 
classification  of  the  scholars  ;  being  kept  throughout  the 
year,  the  organization  would  be  more  permanent  and  effect- 
ive, and  the  manifold  evils,  growing  out  of  the  constant 
change  of  teachers,  might  be  obviated.  The  present  is  an 
auspicious  time  for  this  work.  In  many  towns  or  counties. 


214      .  THE    SCHOOL   AND 

the  schoolhouses  are  old  and  inconvenient,  and  must  soon 
be  renewed.  Would  it  not  be  wise,  in  such  cases,  to  induce 
the  trustees  and  inhabitants  of  neighbouring  districts  to  as- 
semble, and  to  consider  the  expediency  of  so  combining  their 
energies,  as  at  once  to  increase  the  value,  and  diminish  the 
expense,  of  an  education  for  their  children. 

Where  it  is  not  found  practicable  or  expedient,  to  reor- 
ganize the  school-districts  on  this  principle,  another  plan 
may  be  adopted,  which  has  found  great  favour  in  Massa- 
chusetts and  Connecticut,  and  which  is  thus  described  by 
the  enlightened  gentleman  who  presides  over  the  interests 
of  primary  instruction  in  the  former  of  those  states  :  "  The 
population  of  many  towns  is  so  situated  as  conveniently  to 
allow  a  gradation  of  the  schools.  For  children  under  the 
'age  of  eight  or  ten  years,  about  a  mile  seems  a  proper  limit, 
beyond  which  they  should  not  be  required  to  travel  to 
school.  On  this  supposition,  one  house,  as  centrally  situ-. 
ated  as  circumstances  will  admit,  would  accommodate  the 
population  upon  a  territory  of  four  square  miles,  or,  which 
is  the  same  thing,  two  miles  square.  But  a  child  above 
that  age  can  go  two  miles  to  school,  or  even  rather  more, 
without  serious  inconvenience.  There  are  many  persons 
whose  experience  attests  that  they  never  enjoyed  better 
health,  or  made  greater  progress,  than  when  they  went  two 
miles  and  a  half  or  three  miles  daily  to  school.  Supposing, 
however,  the  most  remote  scholars  to  live  only  at  about  the 
distance  of  two  miles  from  the  school,  one  house  will  then 
accommodate  all  the  older  children  upon  a  territory  of  about 
sixteen  square  miles,  or  four  miles  square.  Under  such  an 
arrangement,  while  there  were  four  schools  in  a  territory  of 
four  miles  square,  i.  e.,  sixteen  square  miles,  for  the  young- 
er children,  there  would  be  one  central  school  for  the  older 
Suppose  there  is  $600  to  be  divided  among  the  inhabitants 
of  this  territory  of  sixteen  square  miles,  or  $150  for  each 
of  the  four  districts.  Suppose,  farther,  that  the  average 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER. 


215 


wages  for  male  teachers  is  $25,  and  for  female  $12  50  per 
month.  If,  according  to  the  present  system,  four  male 
teachers  are  employed  for  the  winter  term,  and  four  female 
for  the  summer,  each  of  the  summer  and  winter  schools 
may  be  kept  four  months.  The  money  would  then  be  ex- 
hausted; i.  e.,  four  months  summer,  at  $12  50  =  $50,  and 
four  months  winter,  at  $25  =  $100  ;  both  =$150.  But,  ac- 
cording to  the  plan  suggested,  the  same  sum  would  pay  for 
six  months'  summer  school  instead  of  four  in  each  of  the 
four  districts,  and  for  a  male  teacher's  school  eight  months 
at  $35  a  month,  instead  of  four  months  at  $25  a  month,  and 
would  then  leave  $20  in  the  treasury. 


2  m. 


2  m. 


"  By  this  plan,  the  great  superiority  of  female  over  male 
training  for  children  under  eight,  ten,  or  twelve  years  of  age 
would  be  secured ;  the  larger  scholars  would  be  separated 
from  the  smaller,  and  thus  the  great  diversity  of  studies  and 
of  classes  in  the  same  school,  which  now  crumbles  the 
teacher's  time  into  dust,  would  be  avoided ;  the  female 
schools  would  be  lengthened  one  half;  the  length  of  the 
male  schools  would  be  doubled,  and  for  the  increased  com- 
pensation, a  teacher  of  fourfold  qualifications  could  be  em- 
ployed."— "  If  four  districts  cannot  be  united,  three  may. 
If  the  central  point  of  the  territory  happen  to  be  populous,  a 
schoolhouse  may  be  built  consisting  of  two  rooms,  one  for 
the  large,  the  other  for  the  small  scholars ;  both  upon  the 
same  floor,  or  one  above  another." 

The  principal  objection  to  this  plan,  is,  that  it  suspends 


216  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

the  schools  for  children  under  ten  years  of  age,  during  half 
of  each  year,  and  keeps  open  the  union  or  high  school  but 
eight  months.  Thus  both  schools  would,  in  effect,  be  bro- 
ken up  each  year,  and  that  class  of  children  who  can  be 
best  spared  to  attend  throughout  the  year  would,  many  of 
them,  be  deprived  of  access  to  school  for  six  months  out  of 
every  twelve.  Would  it  not  be  better  to  require  the  female 
schools  to  be  kept  open  ten  months  each  year,  and  to  re- 
ceive all  children  under  twelve  years  of  age,  and  girls  even 
later,  the  central  or  union  school  being  kept  four  months  ? 
Four  female  teachers  at  $12  50  would  be  $50  a  month; 
this  for  ten  months  =$500,  leaving  $100  to  be  paid  to  the 
male  teacher. 

That  some  arrangement,  by  which  the  evils  of  feeble 
districts  can  be  avoided,  is  absolutely  necessary,  will  be 
more  obvious,  if  we  consider  the  peculiar  distribution  of 
population,  over  the  face  of  our  country.  Prussia,  with 
whose  school  system  we  are  most  accustomed  to  compare 
our  own,  has,  on  an  average,  one  hundred  and  thirty  inhab- 
itants to  every  square  mile,  while  in  this  state  we  have 
but  about  fifty-five.  In  another  respect  the  difference  is 
still  greater.  In  Prussia,  the  inhabitants,  even  of  rural  dis- 
tricts, instead  of  living,  as  with  us,  in  isolated  dwellings,  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  apart,  are  grouped  together  in  hamlets  or 
villages,  almost  any  one  of  which  is  sufficiently  large  to 
furnish  a  school  with  sixty-five  or  seventy  children.  It 
must  be  evident  that,  in  such  a  country,  there  is  little  occa- 
sion for  that  subdivision  of  districts,  which  here,  though 
carried  much  too  far,  is  still,  in  some  degree,  unavoidable. 
When,  in  addition  to  this  facility  which  exists  in  Prussia 
for  forming  large  schools,  we  consider  that,  there,  every 
profession  or  calling  is  already  crowded,  and  that  multi- 
tudes of  men  have  no  higher  ambition  than  to  be  school, 
masters  for  life  in  some  village  or  primary  school ;  and 
when  we  consider,  farther,  that  a  sum,  which,  in  Prussia  or 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  217 

France,  would  be  adequate  to  remunerate  a  master,  would 
not,  in  this  country,  pay  the  wages  of  a  day-labourer,  we 
shall  perceive  how  visionary  it  must  be,  to  hope  that  a  class 
of  men  can  be  trained  up  here,  willing  to  teach  common 
schools  for  life,  at  the  rates  which  feeble  and  thinly-peo- 
pled districts  can  pay.  The  necessity,  therefore,  for  em- 
ploying females,  seems,  here,  to  be  clear  and  irresistible. 
Even  in  Prussia,  it  is  thought,  by  many  judicious  friends  of 
popular  education,  that  they  might  be  employed,  in  many 
instances,  with  much  benefit.  Says  a  late  writer, 

"  There  is  this  peculiarity  in  Dutch  and  German  schools, 
that  women  are  rarely  employed  in  them  except  to  teach 
sewing  and  knitting,  or  as  mistresses  of  infant  schools.  In 
large  rooms,  filled  entirely  with  girls,  we  rarely  found  a 
schoolmistress  or  a  female  teacher,  unless  the  children  be- 
longed to  the  lowest  class  in  the  school,  and  were  merely 
learning  the  alphabet,  or  unless  the  hour  for  needlework 
had  arrived.  The  Germans  greatly  underrate  the  physical 
strength  and  intellectual  power  of  women,  as  adapted  for 
the  work  of  instruction.  They  affect  a  great  contempt  for 
female  authorship,  arising  partly,  perhaps,  from  the  fact 
that  they  have  but  few  writers  of  that  sex,  or  but  few  to  be 
compared  with  the  best  of  those  of  England  and  France. 
We  believe  this  prejudice  against  female  talent  to  be  unfor- 
tunate and  mischievous.  There  is  nothing  that  a  girl  can 
learn  that  a  woman  is  incapable  of  teaching  when  properly 
trained  ;  and,  in  many  cases — as  every  one  knows  who  has 
frequented  Sunday-schools — women  make  better  instructors 
than  those  of  the  other  sex.  Women  have  often  more  tal- 
ent for  conversational  teaching  (the  best  of  all  forms  of  in- 
struction), more  quickness  of  perception  in  seizing  difficul- 
ties by  which  the  mind  of  a  child  is  embarrassed,  and  more 
mildness  of  manner  than  a  master  commonly  possesses; 
and  when  these  important  qualities  are  combined  with  the 
proper  degree  of  firmness  (and  that,  too,  may  be  acquired), 

T 


218  THE    SCHOOL   AND 

they  cannot  be  excelled.  For  teaching  singing  they  are 
especially  qualified,  as  the  pitch  of  their  voices  enables 
them  to  sing  in  unison  with  children,  instead  of  an  octave 
below ;  and  for  the  physical  strength  said  to  be  wanting, 
no  instruction  can  be  fit  for  a  child  that  is  given  in  a  form 
that  would  exhaust  any  frame  but  one  of  iron  or  brass. 
But  we  need  not  dwell  upon  this  part  of  our  subject,  for 
English  notions  of  delicacy  would  not  permit  schools  to  ex- 
ist, in  which  girls  of  13  or  14  should  be  left,  for  hours  to- 
gether, without  any  person  to  consult  belonging  to  their 
own  sex.  Normal  schools,  therefore,  if  ever  established  in 
this  country,  must  be  established  for  women  as  well  as  for 
men."* 

Having  discussed,  so  much  in  detail,  the  best  methods  of 
organizing  schools  in  the  country,  where  population  is 
sparse,  it  may  be  well,  before  dismissing  this  branch  of  our 
subject,  to  consider  the  various  plans  which  have  been  pro- 
posed for  the  improvement  of  schools  in  cities. 


SECTION  V. 

THE  IMPROVEMENT  OF  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 

'I  A  school  ought  to  be  a  noble  asylum,  to  which  children  will 
come,  and  in  which  they  will  remain  with  pleasure ;  to  which  their 
parents  will  send  them  with  good-will." — COUSIN. 

SCHOOLS    IN    CITIES    AND    VILLAGES. 

CHILDREN  residing  in  large  towns,  and,  indeed,  in  all 
compact  places,  are  exposed  to  peculiar  dangers  and  tempt- 
ations, and  they  need,  therefore,  more  than  others,  the 
benignant  influence  of  good  schools.  It  is  an  influence, 
however,  which  very  many  of  them  are  not  likely  to  en- 
joy. They  are,  in  many  instances,  afflicted  with  improvi- 
dent or  immoral  parents ;  and  being  generally  doomed,  in 

*  Westminster  Review, 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  219 

such  cases,  to  poverty,  they  are  crowded  together  in  dark 
and  neglected  districts,  where  their  condition  escapes  ob- 
servation, and  where  they  rapidly  corrupt  one  another.  It 
is  not  strange,  therefore,  that  a  larger  proportion  of  children 
grow  up  with  idle  and  profligate  habits,  in  towns,  than  in  the 
country  ;  and  it  is  plain,  that  to  prevent  this  mournful  result 
calls  for  special  care  and  attention,  on  the  part  of  the  friends 
of  education.  To  determine,  then,  on  the  best  system  of 
public  instruction  for  a  city ;  to  bring  its  advantages  to  ev- 
ery one's  door,  and  especially  to  the  doors  of  the  poor  ;  and 
to  provide  that  all  shall  avail  themselves  of  those  advanta- 
ges, is  an  object  of  the  very  highest  interest  and  importance. 
It  touches  intimately  the  general  welfare,  which  is  always 
endangered  by  the  presence  of  the  ignorant  and  unprinci- 
pled ;  especially  in  large  cities,  where  such  persons  have 
peculiar  incitements,  and  enjoy  signal  opportunities  for  con- 
federation and  outrage. 

I.  DISTRICT  SYSTEM. — The  methods  which  have  been 
proposed  for  school  organization,  in  cities,  are  various.  By 
one,  which  is  considerably  prevalent,  the  territory  of  a  city  is 
divided,  as  in  the  country,  into  small  districts,  and  in  each,  a 
school  is  kept,  sufficiently  large  for  the  accommodation  of 
all  the  children  in  said  district.  Where  the  districts  con- 
tain, each,  but  a  small  number  of  children,  this  system  appears 
to  be  obnoxious  to  the  most  serious  objections.  It  collects 
together  in  one  apartment,  and  under  the  supervision  of  but 
one  teacher,  children  of  every  age  and  grade  of  attainment ; 
and  these  so  divide  the  labours  and  distract  the  attention  of 
their  instructer,  that  a  large  portion  of  his  energies  are  wast- 
ed. In  a  school  composed  of  none  but  small  children,  many 
exercises  might  be  introduced,  admirably  adapted  to  interest 
and  improve  them,  which,  in  a  school  composed  in  part  of 
larger  scholars,  would  be  quite  out  of  place.  So  with  dis- 
cipline :  if  it  has  to  be  accommodated  to  the  mixed  and  het- 
erogeneous character  of  a  school  composed  of  children  of 


220  THE    SCHOOL   AND 

all  ages,  it  must  fail  in  adapting  itself  with  skill  and  precis- 
ion to  the  wants  and  capacities  of  those  of  any  particular 
age.  Division  of  labour  seems  to  be  quite  as  important  in 
education  as  in  the  production  of  wealth  ;  and  we  might  with 
as  much  wisdom  require  that  cotton  should  be  picked,  and 
carded,  and  spun,  and  woven,  and  bleached,  and  dressed,  by 
one  machine  or  by  one  person,  as  that  children  of  different 
ages  and  attainments,  as  well  as  dispositions,  should  be  suc- 
cessfully governed  and  instructed  by  one  teacher.  In  the 
country,  where  schools  can  be  maintained  only  by  means 
of  local  districts,  such  an  evil  is,  in  a  degree,  unavoidable  ; 
but  in  cities  and  villages  it  is  gratuitous,  and  ought,  there- 
fore, to  be  avoided. 

A  modification  of  the  district  system  has  been  recently 
introduced  in  Buffalo,  and  a  few  other  cities  of  this  state, 
which  seems  to  obviate  some  of  the  most  material  of  these 
objections.  The  population  is  divided  into  larger  districts, 
varying  from  one  thousand  to  fifteen  hundred,  so  that  each 
district  will  contain  nearly  three  hundred  children.  In  each 
a  schoolhouse  is  erected,  containing  two  apartments,  in  one 
of  which  a  female  teacher  is  employed  to  superintend  the 
instruction  of  the  younger  pupils,  and  in  the  other  a  male 
teacher,  at  a  fixed  and  competent  salary,  to  give  instruction 
in  the  higher  branches.  In  Buffalo,  a  city  superintendent 
has  been  appointed,  who  reports  that  "  the  system  has  thus 
far  succeeded  beyond  the  most  sanguine  hope  of  its  pro- 
jectors and  friends.  Its  good  effects  are  already  apparent 
from  the  anxiety  to  obtain  admission  into  the  schools,  the 
prompt  and  constant  attendance  of  the  children,  and  their 
correct  and  orderly  deportment  while  under  the  authority 
of  their  teachers."  The  estimation  in  which  the  public 
hold  it,  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that,  in  1837,  the 
whole  number  of  children  taught  in  all  the  public  schools 
was  but  679,  whereas,  in  1839,  when  the  system  had  be- 
come fully  established,  it  had  swelled  to  2450  ;  and  in 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  221 

1840,  to  4068.  The  report  of  the  superintendent  adds, 
that  "  in  each  of  the  districts,  the  school  has  been  kept 
open  during  the  whole  year,  at  an  expense  of  $8875  30,  of 
which  $1585  18,  only,  was  contributed  by  the  state,  and 
the  balance,  $7291  12,  raised  by  taxation  and  from  rate- 
bills."  To  show  the  advantage  of  an  efficient  system  of 
public  schools  over  one  in  which  they  are  neglected,  and, 
on  that  account,  soon  overshadowed  by  private  schools,  it 
may  be  proper  to  add  that,  prior  to  the  adoption  of  the  pres- 
ent plan,  -it  was  found  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  all 
the  children  of  Buffalo  were  at  no  school,  public  or  private, 
and  that  the  average  annual  expense  of  instructing  those 
who  did  attend,  was  two  thirds  greater  than  at  present.* 

*  The  following  account  of  the  system  of  public  instruction  in 
Lowell  (Mass.)  will  be  read  with  interest. 

"  The  public  schools  are  divided  into  three  grades,  viz.,  twenty- 
four  primary  schools,  eight  grammar  schools,  and  one  high  school, 
and  all  of  them  maintained  by  direct  tax  on  the  whole  city.  The 
primary  schools  are  taught  entirely  by  females,  and  receive  children 
under  seven  years  of  age,  and  until  they  are  qualified  for  admission 
to  the  grammar  schools;  the  average  number  to  each  school  is 
sixty. 

"  The  grammar  schools  receive  those  who  can  bring  a  certificate, 
or  pass  an  examination  in  the  common  stops  and  abbreviations,  and 
in  easy  reading  and  spelling.  These  schools  are  divided  into  two 
departments,  one  for  boys  and  the  other  for  girls,  and  are  taught  by 
a  male  principal  and  assistant,  two  female  assistants,  and  a  writing- 
master.  The  number  of  scholars  is  about  200  in  each  department. 
The  studies  are  the  common  branches  of  an  English  education. 

"The  high  school  prepares  young  men  for  college,  and  carries 
forward  the  education  of  the  young  of  both  sexes  in  the  studies  pre- 
viously pursued  in  the  grammar  schools,  as  well  as  in  algebra,  ge- 
ometry, rhetoric,  astronomy,  practical  mathematics,  natural  history, 
moral  philosophy,  book-keeping,  composition,  and  the  evidences  of 
Christianity.  Pupils  are  admitted,  on  examination,  twice  a  year,  in 
the  studies  of  the  grammar  schools.  There  are  two  departments, 
one  under  a  male  and  the  other  a  female  principal,  assisted  by  two 
assistants,  and  a  teacher  of  plain  and  ornamental  penmanship. 
T2 


222  THE    SCHOOL   AND 

II.  The  MONITORIAL  PLAN,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called, 
the  system  of  Mutual  Instruction. — This  method  seems  to 
have  been  borrowed  from  the  Hindu  schools  at  Madras,  and 
was  introduced  into  England  by  Bell  and  Lancaster.  Its 

"  The  care  and  superintendence  of  the  public  schools  are  intrusted 
to  a  committee,  not  exceeding  twelve,  elected  annually.  The  com- 
mittee must  choose  a  chairman,  secretary,  and  a  sub-committee  for 
each  school,  with  appropriate  duties.  The  general  committee  elect 
teachers,  determine  their  salaries,  remove  those  who  are  incompe- 
tent, and  make  all  necessary  regulations  respecting  the  studies, 
books,  and  discipline  of  the  schools.  They  must  meet  at  least  once 
a  month.  The  sub-committee  meet,  visit,  and  examine  into  the 
progress  of  each  of  his  particular  school  or  schools  once  a  month, 
and  report  at  the  regular  meeting  of  the  board. 

"  No  better  education  can  be  obtained  in  the  English,  or  in  the 
preparatory  classical  studies,  in  any  school,  and  the  richest  and  best- 
educated  parents  are  glad  to  avail  themselves  of  these  public  insti- 
tutions. Owing  to  the  number  of  Catholic  families,  Catholic  teach- 
ers are  provided  in  five  primary  and  one  grammar  school,  in  parts 
of  the  city  where  that  population  predominates.  This  arrangement 
has  secured  the  attendance  of  that  class  of  children,  and  the  hearty 
co-operation  of  their  clergy." 

The  following  statistics  are  taken  from  the  annual  Report  of  the 
School  Committee  for  the  year  ending  April  4th,  1842  : 

Population  in  1840  ....  .  ''  V  20,981 
Number  of  persons  over  four  and  under  sixteen  4,000 
Average  number  belonging  to  the  schools  <  3,449 
Amount  paid  for  teachers'  wages  : 

High  school   .        ,"       ;        .        .        $3088^ 
Eight  grammar  schools  .      .;      ":"','       9457,' 

*-,•  f    W  li7.olO 

Six  writing-masters   "./     .  '•   ,.' '        1677,' 
Twenty-four  primary  schools       V   •       5094  J 
Fuel          •        •        .        ->.- .-i;':^'.?i  -  •-.        .          1,686 
Rent,  repairs,  &c.     .        .        .    i    .'•,*'.'        2,553 
Aggregate  amount  of  current  expenses  for  1841      $23,557 
Estimated  expense  for  1842      .        .".•'.        25,000 
The  schoolhouses  are  all  of  them  substantial,  convenient,  and 
even  elegant  buildings.    More  than  $60,000  were  expended  in 
1839-40  in  this  way. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  223 

essential  feature  consists  in  employing  scholars  as  assistant 
teachers,  or  monitors  ;  the  office  of  the  master  being  con- 
fined, for  the  most  part,  to  a  superintendence  of  the  school, 
and  to  the  instruction  of  the  monitors.  It  was  originally 
intended  only  for  large  schools,  containing  children  of  all 
ages,  and,  in  such  cases,  is,  of  course,  the  cheapest  of  all 
systems,  since  but  one  master  or  mistress  suffices  for  the 
instruction  of  several  hundred  children.  Its  immediate  re- 
sults, too,  in  imparting  a  certain  mechanical  skill  in  reading 
and  writing,  as  well  as  its  effect  in  maintaining  order  and 
precision  in  the  operations  of  a  great  school,  were  calcula- 
ted to  strike  and  dazzle  spectators,  and  hence  the  system, 
when  first  introduced,  was  unboundedly  popular.  Experi- 
ence, however,  soon  revealed  capital  defects,  which  might 
have  been  anticipated  from  the  very  nature  of  the  meth- 
od, as  compared  with  the  true  principles  of  education  ;  and 
these  have  led  to  its  entire  abandonment,  in  some  coun- 
tries, and  to  its  essential  modification,  in  all.  In  Prussia 
and  Holland,  it  is  wholly  repudiated,  on  the  ground  that  it 
does  not  tend  to  develop  and  discipline  the  faculties  of  the 
mind,  but  only  to  give  a  limited  amount  of  information.  In 
countries  like  England,  where  there  are  hordes  of  poor 
children  growing  up  in  ignorance,  and  for  whose  education 
the  government  does  nothing,  this  system  may  be  profitably 
retained,  since  it  enables  the  benevolent,  with  limited  funds, 
to  accomplish  something  in  behalf  of  a  most  important  ob- 
ject, which  would  otherwise  be  neglected.  There  can, 
moreover,  be  no  doubt  that  some  of  its  expedients  might  be 
adopted  with  advantage  in  all  schools  ;  and  that  even  young 
children  may  sometimes  be  profitably  employed,  in  hearing 
each  other  repeat  lessons,  while  older  ones  may  assist,  in  the 
vastly  higher  and  more  difficult  work,  of  teaching.  But  it  is 
believed  that  the  Lancasterian  method  can  be  well  adminis- 
tered, in  a  large  school,  only  by  masters  eminently  well  qual- 
ified, and  that  even  then,  they  will  find  the  task  too  arduous. 


224  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

In  most  cases,  it  degenerates  into  a  lifeless  mechanism, 
which  deadens  the  faculties  of  a  child,  and  which  is  apt, 
also,  to  be  unfriendly  to  his  morals.  I  cannot  but  regard  it 
as  a  subject  for  congratulation,  that  the  system  is  going  into 
disuse  in  our  own  country ;  and  the  extent  to  which  it  has 
been  retained  in  the  new  public  schools  of  Buffalo  and  of 
other  cities  of  this  state,  seems  to  me  to  constitute  one  of 
the  most  serious  defects,  with  which  those  schools  are 
chargeable. 

III.  Another  plan  of  school  organization,  now  popular  in 
Germany,  is  termed  by  them  the  Facher  system.  It  con- 
sists in  employing  separate  masters  for  separate  studies.  It 
assumes  that  a  teacher  who  has  nothing  to  do  but  teach  wri- 
ting, will  teach  it  better  than  any  one  else  ;  so  with  reading, 
geography,  history,  mathematics,  music,  and  every  other 
branch  of  instruction.  The  head  master  is  looked  to  for 
nothing  but  the  moral  and  general  superintendence.  This 
system  applies  the  principle  of  dividing  labour,  to  the  great- 
est possible  extent,  in  education,  and  has,  therefore,  its  pe- 
culiar advantages.  It  can  be  employed,  however,  only  in 
large  schools  and  in  very  large  towns.  Even  there  it 
is  liable  to  the  objections,  that  the  instruction,  by  being  too 
much  subdivided,  will  be  given  in  a  narrow  and  exclusive 
spirit ;  that  the  sub-masters  will  feel  too  little  responsibility 
for  the  moral  culture  of  their  pupils  ;  and  that  the  number  of 
children  congregated  in  the  same  school  will  multiply  dan- 
gerously the  temptations  to  which  they  are  exposed.  As 
compared  with  the  plan  of  dividing  a  city  into  small  districts, 
with  a  small  school  in  each,  to  be  composed  of  children  of  all 
ages  between  five  and  sixteen,  and  to  be  taught  by  one  in- 
structer  only,  this  system  has  great  and  unquestionable  mer- 
its. It  is  believed,  however,  that  its  benefits  can  be  retain- 
ed, and  its  inconveniences  excluded,  under  a  system  better 
adapted  to  the  condition  and  wants  of  our  own  country, 
and  which  may  be  called,  therefore, 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  225 

IV.  The  AMERICAN  SYSTEM. — By  this  system,  small  pri- 
mary schools,  for  both  sexes,  are  established  in  every  part 
of  the  city,  to  receive  none  but  small  children  (say)  under 
eight  or  ten  years  of  age,  to  be  kept  open  throughout  the 
year,  and  to  be  taught  by  well-qualified  females.  In  these 
schools,  children  of  both  sexes  are  taught  to  read  and  write, 
and  to  understand  the  simplest  elements  of  arithmetic,  while 
girls  are  instructed  in  sewing,  knitting,  &c. ;  and  all  receive 
assiduous  moral  culture.  If  found  necessary,  in  order  to 
save  the  expense  of  separate  lots  and  buildings,  such  schools 
might  each  be  held  in  a  single  apartment  of  edifices  devo- 
ted to  other  purposes,  ample  provision,  however,  being  made 
for  play-ground,  ventilation,  &c. 

Having  acquired,  in  these  schools,  a  knowledge  of  the 
simpler  rudiments,  and  having  also  reached  the  prescribed 
age,  children  should  then  be  advanced  to  schools  of  a  high- 
er character,  which  might,  for  convenience,  be  termed  High 
Schools.  In  these,  a  much  larger  number  of  scholars  might 
be  collected,  and  it  would  probably  be  found  expedient,  also, 
to  have  separate  establishments  for  boys  and  girls.  These 
schools  should  be  sufficiently  large,  to  authorize  the  em- 
ployment of  the  best  masters  hi  the  various  branches,  on 
the  principles  referred  to  in  the  last  article,  and  also  to  fa- 
vour the  use  of  simultaneous  instruction,  and  such  other  im- 
provements as  have  been  well  tested  by  experiment. 

The  advantages  of  this  system  may  be  briefly  summed  up 
under  the  following  heads  : 

1.  It  will  classify  scholars  according  to  age  and  attain- 
ment, and  thus  enable  us  to  procure  teachers  exactly  adapt- 
ed to  their  respective  capacities  and  wants. 

2.  It  will  prevent  the  necessity  of  sending  very  small 
children  far  from  home,  and  of  exposing  them  to  the  con- 
taminations inseparable  from  large  assemblages. 

3.  It  will  secure  to  young  children,  when  most  they  need 
it,  the  genial  influence  of  female  care  and  culture. 


226  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

4.  It  will,  by  providing  good  public   schools  in  every 
neighbourhood  for  small  children,  supersede  private  schools, 
and-  thus  bring  together  the  children  of  all  ranks  and  classes 
of  our  people.     Destined,  as  all  are,  to  meet  hereafter  on 
the  broad  field  of  competition,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  la- 
bour together  for  the  common  weal,  it  is  unwise  to  separate 
them  early  in  life,  and  to  make  schools   which  ought  to  be 
so  many  bonds  of  union,  the  occasions  for  jealousy  and  mis- 
understanding. 

5.  It  will  contribute  to  enlarge  the  circle  of  juvenile  stud- 
ies, by  relieving  the  high  schools  from  attention  to  the 
mere  rudiments,  and  by  securing  that  children  are  taught 
thoroughly  at  every  step  of  their  progress.* 

*  This  is  substantially  the  plan  adopted  in  the  city  of  Boston.  In 
Philadelphia,  one  somewhat  different,  but  well  calculated  to  secure 
the  same  ends,  is  in  operation.  "  The  existing  system  of  public 
schools,"  says  the  last  report,  "  founded  on  the  will  of  the  people, 
owes  its  present  organization  to  an  act  of  Assembly,  passed  on  the 
3d  of  March,  1818.  By  this  act,  the  city  and  county  of  Philadelphia 
form  the  first  school  district  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  law  which 
regulates  its  schools  is  separate  and  distinct  from  the  general  school 
law.  Practical  wisdom  is  thus  manifested  in  not  applying  the  same 
-rules  to  this  densely-populated  portion  of  the  state  as  to  those  morre 
extended  and  sparsely-peopled  districts  in  the  country  parts.  The 
first  district  is  subdivided  into  sections,  numbered  from  one  to 
eleven.  The  organization  and  direction  of  the  schools,  the  election 
of  teachers,  and,  in  general,  the  local  concerns  of  public  education  in 
the  several  sections,  are  confided  to  directors,  whose  number  is  reg- 
ulated by  the  amount  of  duties  to  be  performed.  The  directors  of 
each  section  constitute  a  board,  with  a  distinct  organization.  They 
are  elected  in  the  city  and  incorporated  districts  by  the  councils  or 
commissioners  of  the  districts,  and  in  the  townships  and  boroughs 
by  the  people  at  the  spring  elections.  By  a  recent  law,  the  term  of 
service  of  one  third  of  each  board  is  to  expire  annually. 

"  The  general  control  and  regulation  of  the  school  district  is 
vested  in  a  higher  board,  composed  of  representatives  from  the 
board  of  directors  of  the  several  sections,  and  called  the  '  Controll- 
ers of  the  Public  Schools.' 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  227 

I  would  add  here,  that,  owing  to  the  cupidity  or  the  ne- 
cessities of  parents,  and  also  to  other  causes,  many  children 

"  The  powers  of  this  board  are  large,  and  their  duties  laborious. 
The  board  determines  the  amount  of  money  to  be  raised  annually  by 
taxation  for  the  schools,  and  which,  by  law,  the  county  commission- 
ers are  required  to  place  in  the  county  treasurer's  hands,  subject  to 
its  orders  ;  the  tax-fund  being  made  up,  in  addition  to  the  state  ap- 
propriation, of  one  dollar  for  each  taxable  inhabitant  in  the  district. 
This  board  purchases  sites  for  schoolhouses,  erects  the  buildings, 
furnishes  them,  determines  the  number  of  teachers  to  be  employed, 
and  the  salaries  to  be  paid,  and  prescribes  and  furnishes  the  books 
to  be  used,  and  other  supplies.  It  makes  the  appropriations  re- 
quired by  the  different  sections,  reviews  their  expenses,  and  draws 
the  orders  upon  the  county  treasurer  for  their  payment.  The  Mod- 
el School  and  Central  High  School  are  under  its  immediate  direc- 
tion. Occasional  visits  of  inspection  are  made  to  the  schools  of  all 
the  sections  by  its  members." 

"  The  act  of  the  Legislature  of  the  13th  of  June,  1836,  directing  the 
education  of  all  children  over  four  years  of  age,  annulling  the  obli- 
gation to  use  the  Lancasterian  system  in  the  schools,  and  authori- 
zing the  establishment  of  a  central  high  school,  gave  a  new  impulse 
to  the  school  system.  In  execution  of  its  provisions,  the  board  has 
provided  schoolrooms  or  erected  schoolhouses  wherever  the  wants 
of  the  community  required  them,  and  as  rapidly  as  the  resources  of 
the  county  appeared  to  warrant.  No  effort  has  been  spared  in  ex- 
tending the  number  of  primary  schools,  and  in  providing  them  with 
convenient  and  comfortable  rooms,  in  adding  to  the  number  of  gram- 
mar schools,  erecting  suitable  and  comrnodio*us  buildings  for  them, 
and  procuring  instructors  of  acknowledged  ability  and  qualifications, 
in  introducing  useful  improvements  into  the  meihods  of  teaching, 
and  in  adding  to  the  facilities  of  instruction.  Sound  education  has 
thus  been  diffused  through  the  district,  while  by  close  attention  to 
the  expenses  of  the  system,  they  have  been  kept  within  limits  pro- 
portioned to  the  increased  wants  of  the  public.  Under  the  present 
organization  of  the  system*  a  boy  may  receive  an  entire  and  thorough 
education  in  the  public  schools.  Beginning  in  the  primary  schools, 
where  the  rudiments  are  taught,  he  is  advanced  in  turn,  when  duly 
prepared,  to  the  secondary  and  grammar  schools,  where,  receiving 
the  advantages  of  a  good  English  education,  he  is  prepared  for  the 
high  school,  and  may  thus  enter,  with  a  thorough  training,  any  busi- 


228  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

are  removed  from  school,  and  placed  at  trades  before  they 
are  properly  instructed.  Hence  no  system  of  public  in- 
struction for  cities  should  be  regarded  as  complete,  which 
does  not  provide  evening  schools  for  boys  under  sixteen 
years  of  age,  and  young  men's  associations,  or  lyceums, 
with  their  lectures  and  libraries,  for  those  who  have  passed 
that  age.  "  We  shall  never,"  says  an  able  writer  already 
referred  to,  "  live  in  the  midst  of  an  educated  community, 
until  the  machinery  is  provided  for  carrying  on,  at  suitable 
opportunities,  the  instruction  commenced  in  childhood,  to 
the  years  of  manhood,  and  even  throughout  life.  Beyond 
the  age  of  ten,  or,  at  most,  of  twelve,  the  children  of  the 
poor,  without  a  compulsory  law,  or  without  presents  of 
clothes  and  money,  will  not  be  retained  in  day  schools." 
On  the  other  hand,  "  a  boy  who,  from  the  age  of  fourteen  to 
twenty-one,  has  no  means  of  obtaining  books,  and  none  of 
hearing  lectures  upon  scientific  subjects,  will  neVer  make 
an  intelligent,  well-informed  man." 

V.  DIVERSITY  OF  CLASS-BOOKS. — No  evil  connected  with 
the  present  condition  of  our  schools  calls  more  loudly  for 
immediate  correction  than  this.  It  is  a  subject  of  earnest 
and  continual  complaint  on  the  part  both  of  teachers  and  pa- 
rents, and  it  seems  to  prevail  throughout  the  whole  country. 
In  Massachusetts  it  has  been  remedied  in  part,  but  is  rep- 
resented, in  the  last  report  of  the  secretary  of  the  Board  of 
Education,  as  still  prevalent,  and  as  most  mischievous  in 
its  effects.  In  Connecticut,  according  to  the  report  of  the 
secretary,  made  in  1839,  the  returns,  although  incomplete, 
showed  that  there  were  more  than  two  hundred  different 
schoolbooks  used  in  the  several  studies  pursued  in  the  com- 
mon schools,  viz. :  12  in  spelling,  60  in  reading,  34  in  arith- 

ness,  profession,  or  occupation  to  which  his  inclination  and  talent 
may  direct  him.  In  all  the  schools  the  pupils  are  upon  a  footing  of 
perfectly  republican  equality :  the  system,  while  it  ensures  the  ac- 
quisition of  knowledge  to  all,  ensures  also  the  ultimate  general  el- 
evation and  refinement  of  society." 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  229 

metic,  21  in  geography,  14  in  history,  19  in  grammar,  4  in 
natural  philosophy,  40  in  other  branches.  I  have  not  the 
means  of  stating  the  whole  number  to  be  found  in  the  com- 
mon schools  of  New- York,  but  there  is  no  reason  for  sup- 
posing it  to  be  less  than  in  other  states. 

This  subject  occupies  a  prominent  place,  in  the  reports  of 
the  special  visiters  appointed  in  1839.  Hardly  a  return  is 
made,  in  which  the  multiplicity  of  schoolbooks  is  not  pre- 
sented as  an  intolerable  grievance,  which  must  be  removed, 
before  teachers  can  do  their  duty,  or  scholars  make  proper 
proficiency.  For  example  :  "  The  first  complaint  and  the 
last  complaint  which  greets  a  visiter  in  every  district  is, 
'  My  time  and  the  time  of  my  scholars  is  half  wasted  ;  my 
patience  is  put  to  the  severest  trials' ;  my  scholars  are  not 
advancing,  from  the  simple  want  of  uniform  class-books.' 
Your  committee  are  not  aware  of  a  single  instance,  where 
the  town  boards  of  inspectors  have  acted  on  this  subject,  or 
of  a  single  common  school  in  the  county  where  the  books 
are  uniform."  So  from  the  town  of  Avon  :  "  Our  schools 
suffer  much,  also,  from  the  want  of  uniformity  in  books.  In 
all  our  visits,  we  seldom  found  more  than  three  scholars  to 
read  in  a  class,  for  the  want  of  corresponding  books.  The 
same  difficulties  exist  relative  to  grammar,  geography,  arith- 
metic, &c."  From  the  town  of  Peru  :  "  We  find  a  great 
deficiency  in  the  kind  of  books,  and  the  number  of  them ; 
generally  from  five  to  ten  different  kinds  of  reading-books 
in  one  school — no  two  schools  using  the  same  books." 
From  the  town  of  Fishkill :  "  The  scholars  are  usually  not 
properly  classed — i.  <?.,  according  to  ability  and  progress ; 
each  division  having  the  same  studies  and  using  the  same 
books.  Such  a  classification  seems  very  desirable  for  obvi- 
ous reasons."  "  In  each  case  coming  under  the  observation 
of  the  visiters,  it  has  been  pronounced  impracticable  ;  and  in 
proof  of  the  declaration,  it  has  been  said  that  the  following 
difficulties  exist : 

U 


230  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

"  1st.  vis  to  studies.  Parents  object,  one  to  this,  another 
to  that.  '  My  child,'  says  one, '  must  learn  nothing  but  ci- 
phering and  writing.'  '  Mine,'  says  another, '  must  not  learn 
grammar.' 

"2d.  As  to  books.  '  Parents  will  not  get  them,'  say  the 
teachers.  'Every  teacher  must  have  new  books,'  say  the 
parents.  In  some  cases,  two  or  three  different  systems  are 
taught  in  the  same  school,  for  one  or  both  of  these  reasons." 

The  evils  of  such  a  system  are  obvious.  It  tends,  in  the 
first  place,  to  multiply  classes  to  such  an  extent,  that  the 
whole  time  of  the  teacher  is  frittered  away  in  listening  to 
hurried  recitations.  No  opportunity  is  allowed  for  expla- 
nations and  illustrations,  nor  any  for  awakening  and  disci- 
plining the  mind  of  the  pupil,  by  a  searching  and  skilful  ex- 
amination, which  will  reveal  the  true  amount  of  his  knowl- 
edge, and  the  process  by  which  he  acquires  it.  The  pupil's 
efforts  are  soon  reduced  to  the  mere  act  of  remembering, 
and  the  teacher's  to  that  of  hearing  him  repeat  by  rote.  2d. 
It  operates  oppressively  on  the  teacher  if  he  purchases  all 
the  different  text-books  which  he  may  be  called  to  teach  in 
different  schools  ;  and  if  he  does  not  purchase  them,  he  is 
unable  to  prepare  himself  on  the  different  lessons,  before  he 
hears  them  recited.  3d.  It  prevents  the  introduction  of  the 
system  of  simultaneous  recitation,  which  has  been  found  so 
beneficial  in  other  countries,  and  in  some  parts  of  our  own, 
4th.  The  stimulating  effect  which  a  large  class  exerts  upon 
each  member  of  it,  not  only  when  reciting,  but  also  when 
studying,  by  reminding  him  constantly  that  many  besides 
himself  are  engaged,  at  the  same  time,  on  the  same  lesson, 
and  that  he  will  soon  be  required  to  appear  in  their  pres- 
ence, and  to  be  measured  by  as  well  as  with  them  ;  all  this 
is  lost  where  classes  are  so  subdivided.  5th.  It  adds  seri- 
ously to  the  cost  of  education  ;  not  only  as  it  protracts  the 
period  required  to  make  a  child  master  of  a  study,  but  also 
as  it  increases  the  expense  for  text-books.  Instead  of  be- 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  231 

ing  wom  out,  they  are  soon  cast  aside  to  make  way  for  new 
ones.  If  the  additional  expense  imposed  on  each  district 
annually,  in  this  way,  be  but  $5,  the  annual  cost  to  the 
whole  state  would  be  nearly  $55,000.  6th.  This  system, 
also,  holds  out  a  continual  and  direct  invitation  to  book-ma- 
kers, publishers,  agents,  &c.,  &c.,  to  multiply  text-books, 
and  thus  to  perpetuate  and  extend  these  various  mischiefs. 

This  diversity  of  text-books,  though  the  source,  at  pres- 
ent, of  unmixed  evil,  has  grown  up  naturally  and  insensibly, 
and  is  not,  therefore,  to  be  charged,  as  a  crime, on  any  party. 
Some  books,  in  use  twenty  years  since,  were  very  defective, 
and  called  for  change ;  and,  in  the  absence  of  central  au- 
thority to  regulate  these  changes,  and  of  proper  skill  and 
experience  on  the  part  of  teachers,  it  is  not  surprising,  that 
they  have  often  been  determined,  by  the  caprice  of  parents, 
or  the  enterprise  of  booksellers.  It  is  also  to  be  consider-, 
ed,  that  the  constant  change  of  teachers  has  added  much  to 
this  evil ;  it  being  the  interest  of  a  new  teacher,  on  the  one 
hand,  to  introduce  such  books  as  he  has  been  used  to,  and 
of  parents,  on  the  other,  to  prevent  an  unnecessary  sacrifice 
of  their  property.  Hence  has  come  the  practice,  whenever 
a  book  wears  out,  of  replacing  it  by  one,  which  may  happen 
to  be  acceptable  to  the  teacher  temporarily  employed ;  and, 
as  hardly  any  two  in  succession  have  the  same  preferences, 
we  need  not  wonder,  that  the  aggregate  number  has  become 
immense. 

It  is  a  subject  for  hearty  congratulation,  that  the  people 
are  beginning  to  awake  to  a  proper  sense  of  this  evil,  and 
that  they  are  demanding  a  reform.  On  this  account,  as  well 
as  on  several  others,  the  present  seems  a  most  auspicious 
time,  for  devising  some  plan,  which  may  prove  reasonably 
permanent,  and  which  will  gradually  displace  the  almost 
endless  variety  of  schoolbooks,  by  as  much  uniformity  as  can 
be  expected  in  our  country,  and  by  till,  perhaps,  that  is  con- 
sistent with  the  highest  improvement.  It  is  not  to  be  sup- 


232  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

posed  that  we  have  yet  reached  perfection  in  making  text- 
books ;  and  it  would  be  injustice,  therefore,  to  authors,  as 
well  as  to  children,  to  close  the  door  against  all  future  chan- 
ges. But  it  may  be  assumed,  that  the  experience  of  the 
last  twenty  years  has  thoroughly  tested  the  relative  merits 
of  the  different  works  now  in  market,  and  that  judicious  and 
enlightened  men  might  make  such  a  selection  from  them,  as 
would  answer  well  the  present  wants  of  our  schools.  This 
selection,  too,  might  be  so  arranged,  that,  while  the  books 
harmonize*  with  each  other  on  the  one  hand,  they  should, 
on  the  other,  be  furnished  by  different  authors  and  publish- 
ers, thus  preserving  proper  regard  for  the  rights  and  inter- 
ests of  those  who  have  devoted  themselves  to  the  work  of 
supplying  this  species  of  commodity.  A  selection,  made 
with  some  reference  to  this  end,  would  have  two  special  ad- 
vantages. It  would,  in  the  first  place,  make  it  the  interest 
of  publishers,  to  issue  some  one  or  two  works  at  the  least 
possible  cost,  and  in  the  most  perfect  form,  that  thus  they 
might  secure  a  great  and  permanent  sale,  instead  of  multi- 
plying, as  they  now  do,  works  of  many  different  kinds,  of 
which  a  large  portion  prove  to  be  without  value,  and  a  source  . 
only  of  loss.  In  the  second  place,  authors  would  be  indu- 
ced, by  such  a  course,  to  limit  their  ambition  to  the  compo- 
sition of  one  book  of  the  highest  excellence,  instead  of  as- 
piring, as  so  many  now  do,  to  the  composition  of  a  whole 
series,  embracing  all  the  different  branches  of  knowledge. 

*  In  regard  to  the  selection  of  books  by  committees,  I  have 
had  occasion,  during  the  last  year,  to  notice  a  mistake  or  oversight 
which  deserves  to  be  mentioned.  It  consists  in  the  selection  of 
books  which,  on  important  points,  conflict  with  each  other,  and 
therefore  leave  teacher  and  pupil  in  doubt  what  course  to  pursue ; 
as,  for  instance,  the  selection  of  Webster's  Dictionary,  with  Wor- 
cester's or  Pierpoint's  Reading-books,  where  the  rules  for  pronunci- 
ation contained  in  the  former  are  so  different  from  those  of  the  lat- 
ter.— Horace  Mann — Report  (1842)  to  the  Massachusetts  Board  of  Ed- 
vcation. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  233 

But  by  what  means  can  this  selection  be  made,  and  be 
commended  to  general  favour  ?  This  problem  is,  doubtless, 
a  difficult  and  delicate  one  ;  and  it  ought  to  be  approached 
with  caution,  and  in  the  spirit  of  true  conciliation.  Teach* 
ers  arid  school  officers  must  remember,  that  the  schools  are 
in  the  hands  of  the  people,  and  that  no  plan  can  perma- 
nently prosper,  that  does  not  secure  their  confidence  and 
cordial  co-operation.  On  the  other  hand,  parents  and  em- 
ployers must  remember,  that  to  decide  on  the  relative 
claims  of  different  text-books  is  no  easy  task  ;  that  nothing 
but  experience  and  special  preparation  can  qualify  any  one 
to  perform  it  as  it  should  be  performed  ;  and  that  no  portion 
of  the  community  are  so  deeply  interested  as  themselves, 
in  having  the  work  done  well  and  wisely.  They  should 
also  consider  that,  in  sending  their  children  to  common 
schools,  supported  in  part  by  the  public,  they  have  virtually 
consented  that  the  state  shall  share  in  the  work  of  regula- 
ting and  superintending  those  schools,  and  that  they  are 
bound,  therefore,  to  yield  their  own  judgment  to  that  of  the 
proper  functionary,  and  to  the  will  of  the  majority.  The 
state  has  created  a  general  superintendent,  with  deputies 
in  each  county,  and  has  also  provided  for  the  appointment, 
in  each  town,  of  inspectors,  commissioners,  &c.,  who  are 
to  exercise,  severally  and  in  due  subordination,  all  powers 
necessary  for  the  general  welfare  of  the  schools.  Is  it  not 
through  these  officers,  aided  by  an  enlightened  and  patriotic 
public  sentiment,  that  the  reform  so  much  desired  must  be 
accomplished  ? 

I  would  suggest  that,  in  undertaking  it,  the  following  prin- 
ciples ought  to  be  kept  in  view  : 

1.  It  should  commence  in  the  several  towns,  and  should 
be  the  result  of  a  cordial  understanding  between  the  depu- 
ty superintendent,  the  inspectors  and  trustees,  and  the  most 
judicious  and  active  friends  of  education,  whether  teachers 
or  otherwise.  Town  conventions  for  the  promotion  of  ed- 
U2 


234  THE    SCHOOL  AND 

ucation  would   afford   a  most   favourable   opportunity  for 
bringing  about  a  good  understanding  on  this  subject. 

2.  It  should  aim  at  preserving  the  most  valuable  text- 
books now  in  use,  excluding  the  worthless,  and  reducing 
the  number  to  that  point  necessary  for  uniformity  within 
each  school. 

3.  It  should    contemplate   gradual  rather  than    sudden 
changes.     Parents  should  not  be  required,  in  all  cases,  to 
purchase  new  books  immediately,  but  only  so  fast  as  old 
ones  are  worn  out.     A  list  of  books   selected  should  be 
kept  posted  up  in  the  schoolhouses,  and  when  new  books 
are  wanted,  it  should  be  understood,  that  none  can  be  used 
but  such  as  are  on  this  list.     To  accelerate  the  progress 
of  the  reform,  the  late   and  present  superintendents  have 
suggested  the  expediency  of  exchanges.     An  extract,  to  be 
given  presently,  will  explain  this  plan. 

4.  The  body  which  selects  books  should  take  pains  to 
set  forth  the  urgent  necessity  for  some  reform  in  this  mat- 
ter, and  should  recommend  rather  than  enjoin. 

5.  In  adopting  a  series  of  books,  regard  should  be  had 
to  the  practice  of  neighbouring  towns  or  counties.    The  most 
important  thing  is  to  have  uniformity  in  each  district ;  the 
next  most  important  is  to  have  it  in  towns ;  then  in  coun- 
ties, &c. 

6.  Changes  should  be  subject  to  the  supervision  of  the 
state  and  deputy  superintendents  ;  and  when  a  uniform  se- 
ries of  books  has  once  been  introduced  into  any  school,  it 
should  not  be  altered  without  their  consent. 

7.  A  uniform  system  for  the  whole  state,  if  desirable, 
can  only  be  reached  after  a  term  of  years,  and  ought  to  be 
adopted  on  the  recommendation  of  the  state  superintendent, 
by  and  with  the  advice  of  the  deputy  superintendents. 

I  close  this  subject  with  an  extract  from  the  instructions 
lately  issued  from  the  office  of  the  state  superintendent,  and 
which  are  intended  as  a  guide  to  the  deputy  superintend- 
ents,— (Instructions,  p.  195.) 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  235 

"  The  books  of  elementary  instruction. — It  is  believed  that 
there  are  none  now  in  use  in  our  schools  that  are  very  de- 
fective ;  and  the  difference  between  them  is  so  slight,  that 
the  gain  to  the  scholar  will  not  compensate  for  the  heavy 
expense  to  the  parent,  caused  by  the  substitution  of  new- 
books  with  every  new  teacher ;  and  the  capriciousness  of 
change  which  some  are  apt  to  indulge  on  this  subject,  can- 
not be  too  strongly  or  decidedly  resisted.  Trustees  of  dis- 
tricts should  look  to  this  matter  when  they  engage  teach- 
ers." 

"  One  consequence  of  this  practice  is  the  great  variety  of 
text-books  on  the  same  subject,  acknowledged  by  all  to  be 
one  of  the  greatest  evils  which  afflict  our  schools.  It  com- 
pels the  teacher  to  divide  the  pupils  into  as  many  classes 
as  there  are  kinds  of  books,  so  that  the  time  which  might 
have  been  devoted  to  a  careful  and  deliberate  hearing  of  a 
class  of  ten  or  twelve,  where  all  could  have  improved  by 
the  corrections  and  observations  of  the  instructer,  is  almost 
wasted  in  the  hurried  recitations  of  ten  or  a  dozen  pupils  in 
separate  classes,  while,  in  large  schools,  some  must  be 
wholly  neglected.  Wherever  the  (deputy)  superintendents 
find  this  difficulty  existing,  they  should  not  fail  to  point  out 
its  injurious  consequences,  and  to  urge  a  remedy  by  the 
adoption  of  uniform  text-books  as  speedily  as  possible.  To 
accomplish  this,  let  the  trustees,  under  the  advice  of  the 
teacher,  inspectors,  and  superintendent,  determine  what 
text-books  shall  be  used  in  each  study,  and  require  every 
child  thereafter  coming  to  the  school  to  be  provided  with 
the  designated  books.  This  very  desirable  uniformity  may, 
perhaps,  be  facilitated  by  exchanges  between  different  dis- 
tricts, of  the  books  that  do  not  correspond  with  those  in 
general  use,  for  such  as  do.  For  instance,  in  one  school 
the  great  majority  of  spelling-books  may  be  those  of  Web- 
ster, with  some  of  Marshall's,  while  the  latter  may  predom- 
inate in  another  district,  in  which  there  are  also  several  of 


236  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

Webster's.  In  such  cases,  an  exchange  of  the  differing 
books  between  the  two  would  obviously  be  mutually  bene- 
ficial. The  superintendents  might  assist  in  the  execution 
of  such  an  arrangement,  by  noting  the  proportions  of  the 
various  books  in  the  different  schools." 


SECTION  VI. 

IMPROVEMENT  OF  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 

"  All  the  provisions  hitherto  described  would  be  of  none  effect,  if 
we  took  no  pains  to  procure  for  the  public  school  thus  constituted  an 
able  master,  and  worthy  of  the  high  vocation  of  instructing  the  peo- 
ple. It  cannot  be  too  often  repeated,  that  it  is  the  master  that 
makes  the  school." — GUIZOT. 

VI.  INCOMPETENCY  OF  TEACHERS. — That  a  large  propor- 
tion of  common  school  teachers  are  not  well  qualified  for 
their  duties,  is  so  generally  admitted,  that  proof  of  it  would 
be  superfluous.  I  proceed,  therefore,  to  inquire  how  the 
evil  can  be  corrected. 

It  is  quite  eyident,  that  such  an  evil  can  be  thoroughly  cured 
only  by  removing  its  cause.  What,  then,  is  the  cause  of  this 
prevailing  incompetency  of  teachers  ?  it  v,  J  be  found,  if  I 
mistake  not,  in  the  single  fact,  that  the  public,  including  more 
especially  parents  and  employers,  have  had  no  proper  no- 
tion of  the  nature,  difficulty,  and  importance  of  the  office 
which  the  teacher  discharges.  The  state  of  public  opinion 
on  this  subject,  in  our  country,  has  not  been  greatly  in  ad- 
vance of  that  which  prevailed  in  Prussia  sixty  years  since. 
"  Public  instruction,"  says  a  late  Prussian  writer  (Wittich*), 

*  See  a  paper  on  the  Former  and  Present  Condition  of  Element- 
ary Schools  in  Prussia,  by  N.  Wittich,  native  ^f  Tilsit,  Prussia,  in 
the  first  volume  of  the  publications  of  the  Central  Education  So- 
ciety. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  237 

referring  to  the  state  of  common  schools  in  his  country  at 
that  period,  "  public  instruction  was  then  a  mechanic  art, 
not  unlike  that  of  a  cobbler  ;  for  teaching  was  synonymous 
with  filling  the  memory  of  a  child ;  reading  was  imparted 
by  the  most  simple  method  of  syllabication,  and  arithmetic 
without  the  least  indication  of  the  natural  relations  existing 
between  numbers.  At  this  time  any  man  was  deemed  fit  to 
hold  the  office  of  schoolmaster  in  an  elementary  school.  If 
he  was  uninstructed  in  some  branch  of  the  requisite  knowl- 
edge, the  study  of  a  few  days  or  weeks  was  considered  suf- 
ficient to  supply  the  deficiency.  Hence  it  happened  that 
most  of  these  teachers  were  persons  who  had  previously 
tried  their  fortune  in  some  other  business,  and  had  not  suc- 
ceeded. They  commonly  continued  to  practise  their  art,  as 
mending  old  clothes,  &c.,  either  after  schooltime,  or  even, 
sometimes,  during  the  attendance  of  the  children.  The  dis- 
cipline was  as  simple  and  as  ineffective  as  the  method  of 
teaching,  consisting  of  a  continual  use  of  the  stick." 

With  this  portrait,  which  would  serve  to  represent  the 
character  of  primary  instruction  throughout  Europe  at  the 
time  referred  to,  and  which,  in  its  essential  features,  is  but. 
too  much  like  the  teaching  now  prevalent  in  our  own  com- 
mon schools,  contrast  the  following  description  of  a  good 
schoolmaster,  by  one  of  the  first  statesmen  and  philosophers 
of  the  age.  Says  Guizot,  in  the  speech  with  which  he  in- 
troduced "  the  law  of  primary  instruction"  to  the  French 
Chamber  of  Deputies :  "  What  a  well-assorted  union  of 
qualities  is  required  to  constitute  a  good  schoolmaster  ?  A 
good  schoolmaster  ought  to  be  a  man  who  knows  much 
more  than  he  is  called  upon  to  teach,  that  he  may  teach 
with  intelligence  and  with  taste  ;  who  is  to  live  in  an  humble 
sphere,  and  yet  have  a  noble  and  elevated  mind,  that  he  may 
preserve  that  dignity  of  mind  and  of  deportment,  without 
which  he  will  never  obtain  the  respect  and  confidence  of 
families ;  who  possesses  a  rare  mixture  of  gentleness  and 


1238  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

firmness  ;  for,  inferior  though  he  be,  in  station,  to  many  indi- 
viduals in  the  commune,  he  ought  to  be  the  obsequious  ser- 
vant of  none  ;  a  man  not  ignorant  of  his  rights,  but  thinking 
much  more  of  his  duties ;  showing  to  all  a  good  example, 
and  serving  to  all  as  a  counsellor ;  not  given  to  change  his 
condition,  but  satisfied  with  his  situation,  because  it  gives 
him  the  power  of  doing  good ;  and  who  has  made  up  his 
mind  to  live  and  to  die  in  the  service  of  primary  instruction, 
•which  to  him  is  the  service  of  God  and  his  fellow-creatures. 
To  rear  masters  approaching  to  such  a  model  is  a  difficult 
task,  and  yet  we  must  succeed  in  it,  or  we  have  done  nothing 
for  elementary  instruction.  A  bad  schoolmaster,  like  a  bad 
parish  priest,  is  a  scourge  to  a  commune ;  and  though  we  are 
often  obliged  to  be  contented  with  indifferent  ones,  we  must 
do  our  best  to  improve  the  average  quality."* 

The  first  step  towards  rearing  teachers  of  this  lofty  spirit 

*  In  the  same  spirit  he  addresses  teachers  in  a  circular :  "  No 
sectarian  or  party  spirit,"  he  exclaims,  "in  your  schools;  the 
teacher  must  rise  above  the  fleeting  quarrels  which  agitate  society. 
Faith  in  Providence,  the  sanctity  of  duty,  submission  to  parental  au- 
thority, respect  for  the  laws,  the  prince,  the  rights  of  all,  such  are 
the  sentiments  lie  must  seek  to  develop."  So  in  the  following  pic- 
ture of  the  painful  duties  of  the  teacher,  and  of  the  consolations 
which  he  must  find  within  himself.  "  There  is  no  fortune  to  be 
made  ;  there  is  little  renown  to  be  gained  in  the  obligations  which 
the  teacher  fulfils.  Destined  to  see  his  life  pass  away  in  a  monot- 
onous occupation,  sometimes  even  to  experience  the  injustice  or  in- 
gratitude of  ignorance,  he  would  often  be  saddened,  and  perhaps 
would  succumb,  if  he  did  not  derive  courage  and  strength  from  other 
sources  than  the  prospect  of  immediate  or  personal  reward.  He 
must  be  sustained  and  animated  by  a  profound  sense  of  the  moral 
importance  of  his  labours  ;  the  austere  pleasure  of  having  served  his 
fellow-creatures,  and  secretly  contributed  to  the  public  welfare,  must 
be  his  compensation,  and  that  his  conscience  alone  can  give.  It  is 
his  glory  not  to  aspire  to  aught  beyond  his  obscure  and  laborious 
condition ;  to  exhaust  himself  in  sacrifices  scarcely  noticed  by  those 
whom  they  benefit ;  to  toil,  in  short,  for  man,  and  to  expect  his  rec- 
ompense only  from  God." 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  239 

in  our  own  country,  is  to  satisfy  the  people  of  its  necessity. 
In  France  and  Prussia,  it  was  sufficient  if  trie  government 
appreciated  this  necessity.  But  with  us,  where  schools  are 
placed  under  the  immediate  control  of  the  inhabitants,  nothing 
will  answer  but  a  profound  conviction,  on  their  part,  that  a 
reform  is  needed,  and  that  that  reform  must  be  their  own 
work.  To  desire  better  teachers  is  but  the  first  step.  With 
that  desire,  must  be  combined  a  readiness  to  provide  the 
means  for  supporting  them,  and  a  disposition  to  assign  them 
<he  rank,  and  consideration,  to  which  they  are  entitled  by 
their  services.  It  is  idle  to  talk  of  there  being  a  real  and 
general  demand  for  the  best  teachers,  so  long  as  employers 
expect  to  procure  an  instructor  for  their  children,  at  the  same 
price,  that  they  pay  to  labourers  on  the  farm,  or  in  the  kitchen. 
When  properly-qualified  teachers  are  called  for,  in  a  distinct 
and  emphatic  manner,  and  when  the  people  show  that  they 
are  capable  of  distinguishing  between  real  merit  and  noisy 
pretension,  then,  and  not  till  then,  there  will  be  a  demand 
indeed,  and  that  demand  will  be  supplied.  The  conscien- 
tious will  feel  ufiged  to  qualify  themselves  for  a  duty  so  high 
and  important,  and  the  enterprising  will  be  incited,  by  the 
hope  of  a  return,  proportioned  to  the  magnitude  and  respon- 
sibility of  their  labours. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten,  that  in  this  country,  broad  ave- 
nues to  success  seem  to  open  before  every  young  man  as  he 
enters  life,  and  that  but  few,  who  are  properly  qualified  to 
teach,  will  consent  to  confine  themselves,  for  life,  to  common 
schools-.  It  is  partly  on  this  account,  that  I  have  already 
urged,  so  strenuously,  the  permanent  employment  of  female 
teachers.  But  I  would  still  more  strenuously  urge  that, 
whether  we  employ  males  or  females,  we  can  never  hope, 
in  such  a  country,  to  have  good  permanent  teachers,  unless 
the  prevailing  method  of  hiring  and  treating  them  is  changed. 
We  not  only  offer  them  a  pitifully  small  remuneration  ;  we 
also  engage  them  but  for  short  periods  of  time  ;  we  subject 


240  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

them  to  no  effective  supervision ;  we  provide  them  with  but 
a  small  number  of  scholars,  and  those  of  all  ages  and  de- 
grees of  attainment;  and  we  finally  dismiss  them  at  the 
expiration  of  a  few  months — perhaps  after  subjecting  them 
to  studied  indignities — without  an  expression  of  gratitude 
or  interest.  Is  it  in  man,  to  labour  perseveringly  and  faith- 
fully under  such  a  system,  except  it  be  on  the  single  ground 
of  benevolence  1  and  to  the  benevolent,  be  it  remembered, 
there  are  more  inviting  fields,  since  there  are  those,  which 
promise  an  ampler  and  a  quicker  return. 

We  are  told,  that  we  must  regenerate  our  schools  by 
training  up  teachers  specially  qualified,  and  we  are  pointed 
to  Prussia  and  Holland,  where  this  measure  has  been  the 
great  instrument  of  reform.  We  forget,  however,  that  to 
train  up  teachers  is  useless,  unless  they  can  be  induced  to 
devote  themselves  to  their  profession,  and  that,  in  this  coun- 
try, such  will  not  be  the  case,  unless  schools  are  so  organ- 
ized and  conducted,  as  to  present  the  prospect  of  fixed  and 
agreeable  employment.  Suppose  a  Prussian  or  Dutch 
teacher,  after  having  been  trained  to  his  duties,  were  to  be 
placed  in  a  schoolhouse  by  the  roadside,  unpainted,  and 
perhaps  half  unglazed  ;  standing  directly  on  the  highway ; 
without  play-ground,  or  shade,  or  retreat  for  the  perform- 
ance of  nature's  most  private  and  necessary  offices  ;  where 
he  can  collect  but  about  thirty  scholars,  comprising  those 
of  both  sexes  and  all  ages ;  pursuing  their  studies  in  text- 
books whose  name  is  legion ;  giving,  perhaps,  but  half  the 
days  of  each  week  to  the  school,  and  showing,  too  many 
of  them,  by  their  manners,  that  they  are  unaccustomed  to 
restraint  at  home,  and  impatient  of  it  when  applied  abroad. 
Then  proclaim  to  him,  as  he  enters  on  his  duties,  that  his 
compensation  shall,  at  the  most,  not  exceed  one  dollar  for 
every  working-day,  and,  in  many  cases,  be  less  than  half 
that  sum ;  that  even  this  pittance  can  be  extended  to  him 
only  for  three  or  four  months  at  a  time,  when  he  must  give 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  241 

place  to  a  cheaper  successor  ;  that  for  one  half  of  each  year, 
at  least,  he  must  seek  a  precarious  subsistence  in  another 
locality,  and,  perchance,  in  another  pursuit ;  and  that,  while 
employed  in  his  temporary  school,  instead  of  having  a  fixed 
and  comfortable  home,  he  must  wander  throughout  his  dis- 
trict, fixing  his  home  successively  in  different  families !  I 
ask,  how  many  of  the  twenty  thousand  teachers,  who  are 
now  patiently  pursuing  their  untiring  and  unostentatious,  but 
not  unhonoured  labours  in  the  common  schools  of  Prussia, 
could  be  induced,  on  such  terms,  to  plant  themselves  in  the 
schoolhouses  of  free  America,  or  who  of  them  would  not 
prefer  the  plough,  or  the  mechanic's  toil,  before  the  thankless 
and  unrequited  office  of  a  schoolmaster  ? 

The  Prussian  schoolmaster  devotes  himself  to  teaching 
for  life,  because  he  knows  that,  for  life,  it  will  yield  him  an 
adequate  support.  The  government  assigns  him  a  post, 
and  this  post  it  guaranties  to  him,  during  good  behaviour. 
It  supplies  him  with  a  house  and  garden,  and  encourages 
him  to  collect  around  him  all  the  comforts  of  life.  It  se- 
cures, also,  that  his  salary  shall  be  punctually  paid ;  pre- 
scribes a  course  of  study  to  which  every  child  is  obliged  to 
conform  ;  enforces  a  regular  and  universal  attendance  of  all 
children  of  the  proper  age,  and  provides  a  system  of  rigid 
inspection  and  supervision.  The  school  is  so  connected 
with  the  Church,  and  so  honoured  by  law  as  well  as  by 
usage,  that  the  teacher  is  considered  inferior  only  to  the 
pastor.  His  employers  dwell  in  the  same  hamlet,  so  that 
children  can  be  always  at  school ;  and  if  eminent  for  hi3 
zeal  and  fidelity,  his  fame  is  certain  to  reach  his  superiors, 
and  to  command  applause  not  only,  but  substantial  reward 
or  promotion.  And,  finally,  he  has  the  cheering  assurance 
that  when,  in  the  discharge  of  his  high,  but  toilsome  and 
anxious  duties,  he  has  worn  out  his  best  days,  he  will  not 
at  last  be  dismissed  and  forgotten,  but  will  be  held  in  hon- 
oured remembrance  hy  those  whom  he  has  instructed,  and 

X 


w 

242  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

will  be  permitted  to  retire  on  a  pension  from  his  govern- 
ment. 

It  will  be  found  that  in  Prussia,  and  the  other  countries 
of  Europe  most  distinguished  for  improved  systems  of  pub- 
lic instruction,  the  training  of  teachers  has  gone  hand  in 
hand  with  a  reorganization  of  the  schools,  and  with  strin- 
gent regulations  in  regard  to  the  attendance  of  scholars,  the 
choice  of  schoolbooks,  the  construction  of  schoolhouses, 
and  the  rate  of  teachers'  wages.  It  must  be  so  here.  What 
was  accomplished  in  those  cases,  promptly  and  effectively, 
by  the  centralized  and  almost  unlimited  power  of  the  gov- 
ernment, must  be  accomplished,  here,  by  the  slow  progress 
of  public  opinion.  While  discussion  and  agitation  contrib- 
ute to  develop,  on  the  one  hand,  the  necessity  there  is  for 
a  better  class  of  teachers,  the  example  of  even  a  small 
number,  who  may  be  trained  up  and  stationed  in  different 
parts  of  the  state,  will  soon  serve  to  strengthen  this  feeling. 
Everything  depends,  in  this  country,  on  having  the  people 
thoroughly  penetrated  with  the  conviction  that  our  common 
schools  must  be  good  schools ;  and  that,  in  order  to  make 
them  so,  they  must  receive  the  united  support  of  all  citi- 
zens, and  must  be  rendered  attractive  to  a  superior  class  of 
teachers.  It  must  be  felt,  that  not  only  better  teachers  are 
wanted,  but  better  employers  also.  A  spirit  of  co-operation 
and  liberality  must  be  awakened.  The  position  of  instruct- 
ers  must  be  made  permanent,  and  they  must  receive  that 
consideration,  to  which  they  are  so  well  entitled  by  the  in- 
trinsic dignity  of  their  office,  and  which  will  tend  so  much 
to  lighten  their  labours.  Every  individual  can  do  some- 
thing, towards  a  consummation  so  desirable.  By  reading 
journals  and  books  devoted  to  the  subject  of  education,  and, 
above  all,  by  visiting  schools,  and  reflecting  on  what  he 
sees,  each  one  can  rouse  in  his  own  mind  a  clearer  per- 
ception, and  a  deeper  feeling  of  what  is  needed,  and  of 
what  he  himself  should  do.  Teachers,  however  well  qual- 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  '  243 

ified,  need  aid  and  encouragement,  and  it  should  never  be 
forgotten  that  the  regeneration  of  our  schools  must  be  the 
joint  work  of  the  people  who  employ,  the  instructors  who 
teach,  and  the  government  which  superintends. 

While  I  thus  insist  upon  the  necessity  of  something  be- 
sides new  methods  of  training  teachers,  I  would  also  remind 
teachers  themselves,  that  they  may  do  great  things  towards 
improving  our  schools,  if  they  have  but  the  will,  and  employ 
the  right  means.  If  their  only  object  is,  to  teach  for  a  few 
months  for  the  sake  of  money,  and  if  it  is  apparent  that  their 
thoughts  and  interests  are  away  from  their  school,  they  will 
deserve  little  respect,  and  need  expect  none.  So,  if  they 
betake  themselves  to  this  employment  merely  to  escape  hard 
work,  and  are  satisfied,  if  they  can,  from  year  to  year,  wring  a 
license  to  teach  from  careless  or  ignorant  inspectors,  they 
should,  in  such  case,  remember,  that  their  labours  are  an  in- 
jury rather  than  a  blessing,  and  that  they  merit  neither  pay, 
nor  consideration.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  they  have  a  prop- 
er sense  of  their  duties,  and  strive  to  qualify  themselves  for 
their  due  performance ;  if  they  are  diligent,  in  acquiring 
more  knowledge  of  the  various  branches  of  elementary 
learning,  and  more  skill  in  imparting  that  knowledge  to  oth- 
ers ;  if  they  have  a  generous  ambition  to  send  back  their 
pupils  improved  in  wisdom  and  virtue,  that  thus  they  may  be 
known  as  real  benefactors  of  the  world,  let  them  be  assured 
that  such  teachers  will  be  honoured  and  rewarded.  Their 
example  will  prove  contagious.  Not  only  will  other  teach- 
ers emulate  their  efforts,  but  parents  will  imbibe  the  same 
spirit,  and  the  work  of  improving  our  schools  will  quickly 
become  popular  and  general.  "  We  have  seldom  known 
teachers,"  say  the  visiters  (1840)  of  one  of  our  largest  coun- 
ties, "  who  understand  their  business  ;  who  take  a  pride  and 
satisfaction  in  devoting  all  their  energies  to  the  good  of  their 
school  and  of  the  district ;  who  have  made  themselves  ac- 
quainted with  all  the  families  in  the  district,  with  their  weak- 


5J44  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

nesses,  prejudices,  and  wishes  ;  and,  in  short,  acted  the  part 
of  the  good  Samaritan  to  all,  without  regard  to  compensation 
for  the  first  quarter  only — we  say  we  have  seldom  known 
such  a  teacher  under  the  necessity  of  leaving  a  district  for 
want  of  the  highest  wages.  Therefore,  let  those  who  wish 
good  wages  and  a  permanent  situation  be  impressed  with 
this  fact,  and  act  in  view  of  it." 

TEACHERS'  SEMINARIES  OR  NORMAL  SCHOOLS. 

We  have  already  intimated,  that  better  means  for  educa- 
ting teachers,  and  qualifying  them  for  their  peculiar  duties 
ought  to  be  provided  ;  but  we  have  been  anxious,  at  the 
same  time,  to  enforce  the  too-much-neglected  truth,  that  in 
conjunction  with  such  means,  improvements  should  be  made 
in  the  existing  methods  of  organizing  and  conducting 
schools.  Where  population  is  crowded  and  employment 
scarce,  young  persons  educated  to  a  particular  calling  are 
not  likely  to  quit  it.  But  in  a  country  like  ours,  where 
there  are  so  many  broad  and  open  fields  for  enterprise,  and 
where  knowledge  and  talent  bestow  such  influence,  we  may 
establish  normal  schools  and  educate  young  persons  to  be- 
come teachers  at  great  expense,  and  yet  fail  to  secure  their 
services.  We  are  not,  therefore,  to  infer  that  such  schools, 
when  established  here,  will  prove  as  efficient  as  they  have 
been  found  to  be  in  Europe,  nor  that  they  can  supersede  the 
call,  for  strenuous  and  judicious  measures  to  reorganize  rjur 
whole  system  of  primary  instruction. 

There  is  another  circumstance  which  deserves  consider- 
ation, as  distinguishing  our  system  from  that  which  prevails 
in  Prussia,  and  Holland.  In  those  countries,  especially  in 
Prussia,  there  is  no  connexion  between  common  schools, 
and  the  higher  seminaries  of  learning.  The  former  are  in- 
tended exclusively  for  the  education  of  the  working  class  ; 
the  lo*ter  for  those  who  intend  to  devote  themselves  to  the 
liberal  professions.  Very  rarely  does  a  child  pass  from  a 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  245 

Prussian  common  school  into  a  gymnasium,  and  from  thence 
to  the  University  ;  as,  here,  he  passes  from  the  district  school 
to  an  academy,  and  from  thence,  again,  to  college.  With  us, 
who  know  no  distinction  of  caste,  all  are  parts  of  one  sys- 
tem for  the  education  of  the  people.  With  them,  primary 
schools,  and  normal  institutions  for  preparing  the  teachers  of 
primary  schools,  form  one  system — the  seminaries  for  the 
education  of  the  upper  classes,  as  they  are  termed,  form 
another.  A  young  man,  in  Prussia,  who  enters  the  gymna- 
sium,* expects  to  pass  through  the  University ;  nor  does  he 
ever  expect,  during  his  own  course  of  education  or  after- 
ward, to  become  a  teacher  in  a  primary  school.  In  this 
country,  nothing  is  more  common,  than  for  a  youth  who  has 
passed  his  earlier  years  in  a  common  school,  to  go  to  an 
academy  for  a  few  months  to  complete  his  education,  as  he 
terms  it,  and  often  he  does  it  for  the  special  purpose  of  pre* 
paring  himself  to  teach.  Here,  all  profess  to  aspire  to  the 
best  education  they  can  possibly  obtain  ;  and  hence,  when  a 
child  enters  a  common  school  at  the  age  of  five,  though  his 
parents  may  be  ever  so  humble  in  rank,  and  his  own  means 
ever  so  limited,  it  is  still  uncertain  at  what  point  his  ele- 
mentary instruction  may  stop,  whether  in  the  common 
school,  in  the  academy,  in  the  college,  or  in  the  professional 
school  of  law,  medicine,  or  theology.  Many,  again,  after 
leaving  the  common  school  in  early  life,  and  engaging  for 
some  years  in  active  or  laborious  pursuits,  return  to  study ; 
and,  without  waiting  to  perfect  their  English  education,  pro- 
ceed at  once  to  Latin  and  Greek,  or  such  other  branches  as 
will  facilitate  an  immediate  entrance  on  a  profession.  It  is 
also  to  be  remembered,  that  in  this  country,  a.  considerable 
proportion  of  those  who  teach  winter  schools  are  actually 

*  If  it  be  asked  where  a  German  youth,  intended  for  the  Univer- 
sity, is  placed  until  he  becomes  qualified  by  age  and  attainments  to 
enter  the  gymnasium,  we  answer — under  private  tutors,  or  in  schools 
specially  intended  for  the  higher  classes  of  society 
X2 


246  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

students  in  colleges  and  academies,  who  take  up  the  emf" 
ployment  for  a  time  ;  and  who,  though  deficient  in  some  im- 
portant respects,  are  still  useful,  as  they  carry  down  to  the 
district  school,  the  spirit  and  views,  which  they  have  ac- 
quired in  higher  seminaries. 

It  will  be  evident,  from  this  statement,  that  in  Prussia, 
normal  schools  were  indispensable.  The  primary  schools 
had  hitherto  supplied  their  own  teachers.  They  Avere  fur- 
nished, in  hardly  any  instance,  from  the  higher  institutions. 
When,  then,  the  government  came  to  infuse  life  and  energy 
into  the  hitherto  dormant  system  of  primary  education,  it 
must  needs  have  had  recourse  to  some  new  expedient,  for 
supplying  competent  teachers.  As  it  would  be  idle  to  at- 
tempt to  reanimate  a  lifeless  body  through  means  furnished 
only  by  itself ;  so  it  would  be  equally  idle  to  think,  that  minds 
already  deadened  by  studying  in  a  primary  school  could  be 
the  means  of  awakening  that  school  to  a  new  life.  When- 
ever schools  supply  their  own  teachers  for  a  long  period  of 
time,  there  is  a  strong  tendency  towards  mechanical  and 
monotonous  modes  of  instruction  ;  and  nothing  can  well  ar- 
rest this  tendency,  but  the  stimulus  of  an  active  competition 
on  the  one  hand  ;  or  the  circumstance  that  the  school  favours 
so  free  and  thorough  a  development,  that  botli  teachers  and 
taught  are  fired  with  the  spirit  of  self-improvement,  on  the 
other. 

Hence  new  measures,  for  the  supply  of  common  school 
teachers,  became  necessary ;  and  in  Europe,  it  was  natural 
that  this  want  should  be  met,  by  the  establishment  of  new 
seminaries.  In  this  country,  and  especially  in  this  state, 
it  seems  to  have  been  equally  natural  to  look,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, to  academies.  These  institutions  were  already  es- 
tablished in  nearly  every  county ;  and  they  had  long  been 
regarded,  as  an  important  source  for  the  supply  of  good  teach- 
ers. They  formed,  too,  an  essential  part  of  that  system  of 
public  instruction  which  the  state  had  matured  ;  and  the  sev- 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  247 

oral  parts  of  which,  it  was  deemed  most  desirable  to  bind  to- 
gether, in  close  connexion.  Departments  in  such  academies 
lor  training  teachers  would,  at  the  same  time,  be  much  less 
expensive  than  independent  normal  schools,  and  if  suffi- 
ciently effective,  they  might  be  attended  by  some  peculiar 
advantages.  These  considerations  led,  about  seven  years 
since,  to  their  establishment,  and  it  cannot  be  denied  that 
some  of  them  have  rendered  essential  service.  This  they 
have  done,  as  much,  perhaps,  by  exciting  other  academies 
to  supply  similar  facilities  to  those  who  may  be  preparing  to 
teach,  as  by  any  aid  which  they  have  extended  directly  to 
common  schools.  The  general  effect  of  the  measure  has 
been,  to  render  the  public  more  sensible  of  the  claims  of 
common  schools,  and  of  the  want  of  good  teachers.  It  has 
contributed,  also,  to  establish  more  intimate  and  kindly  rela- 
tions between  our  higher  and  lower  schools  ;  to  awaken  in 
the  former  more  attention  to  the  true  principles  of  teaching ; 
and  to  secure  that  every  improvement,  which  is  made  in  re- 
gard either  to  discipline  or  instruction,  shall  become  the 
common  property,  of  all  our  institutions  of  learning. 

In  one  respect,  however,  these  departments  are  seriously 
deficient.  They  make  no  adequate  provision,  for  exercising 
the  pupil  in  the  practice  of  teaching.  In  most  cases,  too, 
the  students  in  these  departments  are  employed,  too  exclu- 
sively, in  studies  other  than  those  which  are  pursued  in  pri- 
mary schools,*  while  in  these  last  they  are  often  unskill- 
ed. It  is  also  to  be  regretted,  that  the  annual  allowance 

*  The  eft'ect  is,  that  such  students,  being  overtaught  in  some  re- 
spects, soon  become  dissatisfied  with  their  duties,  and  are  anxious 
to  push  themselves  forward  in  a  different  career.  Experience  has 
'  shown  that,-  even  in  the  older  countries  of  Europe,  it  is  dangerous 
to  push  the  instruction  of  those  who  are  intended  to  act  as  teachers 
of  primary  schools,  beyond  that  which  is  essential  to  a  complete  ful- 
filment of  their  duties.  In  this  country  the  danger  is  evidently  much 
greater 


248  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

which  they  receive  from  the  state,  is  not  large  enough  to  give 
them  precedence  of  the  classical  departments  in  the  same 
academies  ;  thus  rendering  them  objects  of  paramount  inter- 
est to  the  trustees  and  teachers,  instead  of  their  being  re- 
garded, as  now,  in  the  light  of  unimportant  appendages.  It 
is,  moreover,  a  fair  ground  of  exception,  that  the  theory  of 
teaching,  instead  of  being  kept  constantly  before  the  pupils, 
is  only  a  subject  for  occasional  discussion  ;  and  that,  by  mix- 
ing with  other  students,  the  ambition,  which  these  pupils 
once  had  to  become  good  teachers,  is  apt  to  be  exchanged 
for  a  desire  to  enter  some  other  profession.  It  is  a  fact 
now  well  ascertained,  that  but  a  small  proportion  of  the 
members  in  these  departments  expect  to  become  perma- 
nent teachers  in  common  schools,  and  that  a  still  smaller 
proportion  ever  fulfil  such  expectations. 

These  considerations  render  it  evident,  that  something  is 
needed,  in  addition  to  these  departments.  An  institution  is 
needed,  in  which  the  students  shall  be  dealt  with,  simply  as 
teachers  preparing  for  their  work,  and  in  which  the  les- 
sons they  daily  receive,  in  the  theory  of  teaching,  can  at 
once  be  reduced  to  practice,*  under  the  eye  of  an  accom- 
plished superintendent.  It  should  be  composed  of  those 

*  Mere  lessons  and  lectures  on  the  science  and  art  of  teaching 
are  not  sufficient.  They  may  form  good  theoretical  teachers,  but 
practical  skill  can  be  gained  only  by  experience ;  and,  unless  oppor- 
tunities for  acquiring  it  be  afforded  before  they  enter  on  their  pro- 
fession, it  must  be  gained  afterward  at  the  expense  of  their  pupils. 
Hence  primary  schools  should  be  attached  to  every  seminary  for 
teachers,  in  which  theoretical  lessons  can  be  exemplified  before  the 
eye  of  the  scholar,  and  he  can  himself  be  fitted,  by  repeated  trials, 
to  take  part  in  the  regular  business  of  instruction.  Such  schools 
are  now  universal  in  Europe,  where  normal  seminaries  are  estab  • 
lished.  They  are  the  more  necessary,  to  prevent  the  teachers  who 
are  found  in  such  seminaries  from  becoming  mere  theorists.  On 
the  other  hand,  care  should  be  used  lest  these  seminaries  be  im- 
bued with  a  bigoted  attachment  to  particular  methods  of  teaching, 
or  with  a  spirit  of  blind  routine  and  imitation. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  249 

who  are  already  well-grounded  in  the  rudiments  of  an  Eng- 
lish education  ;  it  should  propose,  as  its  main  object,  to 
awaken  inquiry  among  its  pupils,  and  to  train  them  to  hab- 
its of  intellectual  activity  ;  to  show  them  at  one  and  the 
same  time  how  they  can  instruct  others,  and  how  improve 
and  cultivate  themselves.  It  should  be  an  institution  per- 
vaded by  the  free  spirit  of  learners  ;  not  one  that  proposes 
to  lay  down  stereotyped  processes  of  teaching,  but  one  that 
will  excite  its  members  to  propose  to  themselves  high  ob- 
jects, and  to  prosecute  those  objects  in  a  generous  and  ever- 
progressive  spirit.  It  should  aim  to  bring  out  the  whole 
character  and  disposition  of  its  pupils  ;  and  where  it  finds 
them  disqualified,  intellectually  or  morally,  for  the  all-im- 
portant work  of  teaching,  it  should  require  them  to  embrace 
some  other  pursuit.  A  few  months,  passed  in  such  a  sem- 
inary, would  raise  and  enlarge  a  teacher's  views,  and  give 
him  an  impulse,  which  he  must  feel  through  all  his  future 
life,  and  in  which  his  pupils  would  ever  have  reason  to  re- 
joice. 

Is  it  not  the  duty  of  the  State  of  New- York  to  supply  it- 
self with  at  least  one  such  institution  ?  It  has  lately  enact- 
ed a  law  giving  new  symmetry  and  efficiency  to  its  common 
school  system ;  a  law  which  embraces  several  new  and 
important  features,  and  which  promises  to  be  rich  in  bless- 
inf.  The  effect  of  this  and  other  causes  will  be  seen,  in 

O  . 

an  unusually  great  demand  for  good  teachers  within  the 
next  two  years,  and  this  demand  will  rapidly  increase.  Is 
it  not  incumbent  on  us,  to  take  more  effectual  measures  to 
supply  it  ?  Why  not  plant  a  teacher's  seminary  or  normal 
school,  sufficient  to  accommodate  one  or  two  hundred  pu- 
pils, at  the  Capital,  where  it  can  be  overlooked  by  the  offi- 
cer who  has  been  charged  by  law  with  the  superintendence 
of  primary  instruction  ;  and  where  it  can  be  visited  by  mem- 
bers of  the  Legislature,  strangers,  and  others,  thus  sending 


250  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

its  influence  to  the  remotest  extremities  of  the  state,  and 
even  of  the  nation.* 

Scholars  instructed  in  such  a  seminary,  in  the  various 
methods  of  teaching,  and  in  the  most  effectual  plans  for  or- 
ganizing and  conducting  schools,  would  carry  a  benignant 
influence,  not  only  to  their  own  schools,  but  to  all  neigh- 
bouring districts.  They  would  serve  as  missionaries,  not 
only  of  better  methods,  but  also  of  a  higher  spirit  of  in- 
struction, and  would  operate  to  quicken  and  rouse  many  a 
fellow-teacher,  now  torpid  and  inefficient,  but  whose  ener- 
gies, once  awakened  and  directed  aright,  would  enable 

*  "  When  education  is  to  be  rapidly  advanced"  says  Mr.  Bache,  in 
his  able  Report  on  Education  in  Europe,  "  seminaries  for  teachers 
afford  the  means  of  securing  this  result.  An  eminent  teacher  is 
selected  as  director  of  the  seminary ;  and  by  the  aid  of  competent 
assistants,  and  while  benefiting  the  community  by  the  instruction 
given  in  the  schools  attached  to  the  seminary,  trains,  yearly,  from 
thirty  to  forty  youths  in  the  enlightened  practice  of  his  methods  ; 
these,  in  their  turn,  become  teachers  of  schools,  which  they  are  fit 
at  once  to  conduct,  without  the  failures  and  mistakes  usual  with 
novices  ;  for,  though  beginners  in  name,  they  have  acquired,  in  the 
course  of  the  two  or  three  years  spent  at  the  seminary,  an  experi- 
ence equivalent  to  many  years  of  unguided  effort.  This  result  has 
been  fully  realized  in  the  success  of  the  attempts  to  spread  the 
methods  of  Pestalozzi  and  others  through  Prussia.  The  plan  has 
been  adopted,  and  is  yielding  its  appropriate  fruits  in  Holland,  Switz- 
erland, France,  and  Saxony,  while  in  Austria,  where  the  method  of 
preparing  teachers  by  their  attendance  on  the  primary  schools  is 
still  adhered  to,  the  schools  are  stationary,  and  behind  those  of 
Northern  and  Middle  Germany. 

"  These  seminaries  produce  a  strong  esprit  de  corps  among  teach- 
ers, which  tends  powerfully  to  interest  them  in  their  profession,  to 
attach  them  to  it,  to  elevate  it  in  their  eyes,  and  to  stimulate  them 
to  improve  constantly  upon. the  attainments  with  which  they  may 
have  commenced  its  exercise.  By  their  aid  a  standard  of  examina- 
tion in  the  theory  and  practice  of  instruction  is  furnished,  which  may 
be  fairly  exacted  of  candidates  who  have  chosen  a  different  w^y  to 
obtain  access  to  the  profession." — See  Report,  p.  325. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  251 

him  to  outstrip  the  most  favoured  competitors.  To  show 
how  much  can  be  done  by  such  a  school  in  a  very  short 
time,  I  add  the  following  testimony,  taken  a  few  years  since 
before  a  committee  of  the  House  of  Lords  (England).  It 
relates  to  the  effect  of  the  instruction  given  in  the  training 
and  model  schools,  which  had  been  established  for  teachers, 
at  Dublin,  by  the  Irish  Board  of  National  Education.  The 
witness  is  the  Rev.  Eugene  Congdon : 

What  kind  of  schoolmaster  have  you  1  I  have  one  schoolmastei 
who  has  been  instructed  under  the  board,  and  that  schoolmaster 
has  been  of  such  use  to  me  that  I  find  the  greatest  possible  advan- 
tage, satisfaction,  and  comfort  with  his  services.  I  have  put  other 
teachers,  male  and  female,  under  his  tuition  for  some  time,  and  he 
has  prepared  them  in  the  same  manner  that  he  has  been  himself 
prepared,  and  thereby  I  find  the  business  of  the  schools  carried  on 
very  well. 

Was  he  educated  at  the  Model  School  of  the  National  Board  in 
Dublin  1  He  was  there  for  three  months. 

Do  you  think  he  was  much  improved  by  that  education  1  He  has 
been  improved  so  far  that  it  is  a  matter  of  astonishment  to  me  how 
children,  from  the  lowest  ignorance  of  nature  almost,  are.  in  three 
quarters  of  a  year  under  his  tuition,  not  only  able  to  spell  and  to 
write,  but  absolutely  able  to  .calculate  with  as  much  precision  and 
accuracy  as  persons  that  have  been  for  years  at  school  before. 

Where  was  he  brought  up  1  When  I  got  permission  from  the 
board  to  send  a  person  forward  for  tuition,  I  advertised  for  persons 
that  would  be  fit  and  proper.  A  number  presented  themselves.  I 
selected  this  man  of  the  name  of  Casey.  I  sent  him  to  Dublin,  and 
he  returned  to  me  afterward  with  the  approbation  of  the  board,  and 
with  a  token  of  their  kindness  in  giving  him  some  books. 

Is  BallydufT  school  in  your  district  1     It  is. 

Is  that  a  good  school !  He  is  the  master  of  it,  and  1  do  not  think 
there  is  in  Ireland  a  better  working  school.  I  suppose  he  has  at 
this  moment  above  300  boys  in  his  school." 

With  a  central  normal  school,  such  as  we  have  proposed, 
aided  by  the  departments  now  established  in  academies,  and 
by  the  peculiar  facilities  which  are  afforded  in  all  our  higher 
seminaries  to  those  who  propose  to  teach,  the  work  of  rais- 
ing the  standard  of  teaching  might  be  greatly  accelerated. 


252  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

This  would  be  especially  the  case,  if  the  institution  receiv- 
ed, at  first,  none  but  female  teachers,  who  might  be  prepared 
more  rapidly  for  the  work,  and  who  are  likely  to  continue 
in  it  for  a  longer  term  of  years.  A  central  school  would 
operate,  not  only  on  its  own  pupils,  but  also  on  those  in 
academies,  and  would  serve,  particularly,  to  recall  atten- 
tion to  the  necessity  of  teaching  the  elementary  branches 
more  thoroughly.  In  the  course  of  a  few  years,  a  num- 
ber of  teachers  of  the  highest  class,  might  be  placed  in 
every  town ;  and  these  would  rear,  in  their  schools,  or 
through  the  stimulus  of  their  example,  a  multitude  more, 
who  would  soon  be  sufficient  to  supply  all  the  wants  of  the 
state.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  no  such  measure  is  adopted — 
if  our  sole  reliance,  for  training  teachers,  is  on  academies, 
which  regard  the  object  as  a  subordinate  one,  which  afford 
no  proper  facilities  for  practice,  and  which  inspire,  in  too 
many  cases,  a  distaste  for  the  office  of  teaching,  rather  than 
a  desire  to  excel  in  it — in  such  case,  it  is  greatly  to  be 
feared,  that  our  common  schools  must  continue  to  languish.* 

*  I  add  here  an  extract  from  the  report  (1836)  of  M.  Cousin  on 
the  State  of  Education  in  Holland,  as  regards  schools  for  the  work- 
ing classes  and  the  poor.  Speaking  of  the  education  of  teachers,  he 
says,  "In  1811  schoolmasters  were  trained  in  the  same  way  as  they 
now  are  generally  ;  in  all  the  public  schools,  those  children  are  se 
lected  who  show  the  most  intelligence ;  they  are  kept  somewhat 
longer,  and  are  trained  for  their  future  destination  by  special  in- 
struction in  the  evening,  and  particularly  by  employing  them  in  the 
different  classes  in  succession ;  at  first  as  assistants,  with  a  very 
small  remuneration,  and  then  as  undermasters,  with  a  better  allow 
ance,  until  they  are  placed  at  the  head  of  a  school  when  a  vacancy 
occurs.  That  method  of  educating  teachers  for  the  primary  schools 
is  still  practised,  and  it  is,  in  some  respects,  an  excellent  one. 
They  are  trained  at  a  very  moderate  expense,  and,  farther,  they  are 
not  made  more  than  schoolmasters  ;  they  are  not  taught  more  than 
is  necessary  for  their  profession.  Brought  up  in  school,  they  ac- 
quire the  habits  of  the  place,  they  become  attached  to  it,  and  cheer- 
fully pass  their  whole  life  in  it ;  while  masters  who  are  reared  at 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  253 

In  connexion  with  the  measure,  which  I  have  thus  ven. 
tured  to  suggest,  there  are  two  others,  to  which  I  will  refer 
briefly.  Teaching  is  a  duty,  -which  God  devolves,  more 
or  less,  on  all.  Whenever  a  mind  is  visited  by  the  light  of 
truth,  it  ought  to  hold  that  truth,  as  a  trust,  for  the  benefit  of 
others,  as  well  as  for  its  own  good.  As  parents,  we  are  not 
only  called  to  teach,  but  also  to  govern  and  influence  ;  and 
in  many  relations  of  life,  we  have  occasion  to  employ  a  skill, 
nearly  allied  to  that,  which  a  teacher  needs  in  the  manage- 
ment of  a  school.  It  would  seem,  then,  that  more  regard 
ought  to  be  paid  to  this  fact,  in  our  systems  of  education. 
Every  child  should  be  taught,  not  only  how  to  acquire,  but 
also  how  to  communicate  knowledge  ;  not  only  how  to  sub- 
ject his  own  will  to  the  regulations  of  a  school,  but  how  to 
proceed  when  he  himself  would  acquire  influence  over  the 

greater  expense  and  with  more  refined  cultivation,  run  the  risk  of 
becoming  less  suited  to  the  hard  life  that  awaits  them,  take  to  it 
only  when  they  can  do  no  better,  and  quit  it  for  something  else  as 
soon  as  they  possibly  can.  These  are  the  advantages  of  the  sys- 
tem ;  but  it  has  also  great  disadvantages.  It  is  very  apt  to  engender 
habits  of  routine ;  every  dtfect  which  has  got  into  the  school  takes  root ; 
the  scholar  and  future  teacher  adopts,  blindly  at  first,  and  afterward 
follows  with  interested  minuteness,  the  whole  manner  of  the  master 
on  whom  all  his  hopes  depend,  and  thus  generation  after  genera- 
tion of  teachers  may  succeed,  without  one  step  in  the  way  of  im- 
provement being  made. 

"  /  attach  the  greatest  importance  to  normal  primary  schools,  and 
consider  that  all  future  success  in  the  education  of  the  people  de- 
pends upon  them.  In  perfecting  her  system  of  primary  schools, 
normal  schools  were  introduced  for  the  better  training  of  masters. 
The  government  was  cautious  not  to  lay  aside  the  old  method,  which 
was  very  good,  but,  at  the  same  tune  that  they  continued  it,  they  es- 
tablished in  1816  two  normal  schools.  All  the  school  inspectors 
whom  I  met  with  in  the  course  of  my  journey  assured  me  that  they 
had  brought  about  an  entire  change  in  the  condition  of  the  school- 
master, and  that  they  had  given  the  young  teachers  a  feeling  of 
dignity  in  their  profession,  and  had  thereby  introduced  an  improved 
tone  and  style  of  manners." 

Y 


254  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

minds  of  others.  Is  not  the  true  theory  of  teaching  and  dis- 
cipline, as  proper  a  subject  of  study  in  a  college,  as  the  true 
theory  of  metaphysics  or  electricity  ? 

The  German  universities  appreciate  this  consideration.  A 
chair  of  Catechetics,  or  Pedagogy,  is  established  in  every 
University,  as  regularly  as  one  of  Philosophy,  or  Mathemat- 
ics. Besides  lectures  on  the  theory  of  the  art,  students, 
who  contemplate  teaching  as  their  profession,  are  actually 
exercised,  in  the  presence  of  the  professor,  in  making  prac- 
tical trial  of  various  methods,  and  all  possible  pains  are  taken, 
to  inspire  them  with  high  and  enthusiastic  notions  of  the 
dignity  and  importance  of  their  office.  It  is  from  this  source, 
that  the  German  normal  schools  derive  their  best  teachers, 
Were  these  schools  superintended,  only  by  those  who  have 
been  trained  within  their  own  walls,  who  have  enjoyed  no 
higher  or  more  comprehensive  culture  than  they  give  even 
to  their  own  pupils,  the  result  would  be  seen  in  the  want  of 
progress,  and  in  the  absence  of  an  active  and  catholic  spirit. 
The  higher  seminaries  of  a  country  are  most  likely  to  intro- 
duce improvements  in  teaching,  because  they  are  able  to 
command  the  highest  and  most  cultivated  talent;  and  it 
ought  to  be  considered  as  their  duty,  to  propagate  a  knowl- 
edge of  these  improvements,  and  to  send  forth,  in  the  persons 
of  their  pupils,  men  who,  even  though  they  never  become 
teachers,  will  still  feel,  that  they  owe  something  to  the  cause 
of  popular  education,  and  will  be  found  among  the  active 
and  enlightened  friends  of  every  effort,  which  is  made  to  im- 
prove common  schools. 

The  other  measure,  which  I  would  suggest,  is  this.  An 
argument,  strongly  urged  in  favour  of  the  present  depart- 
ments for  teachers,  is,  that  the  academies  in  which  they  are 
established  are  already  in  possession  of  buildings,  apparatus, 
&c.,  and  thus  a  great  amount  of  money  has  been  saved. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  objected,  that  by  associating  two 
objects  so  dissimilar  as  general  education  and  normal  in- 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  255 

struction,  we  provide  that  both  shall  be  inadequately  cared 
for,  or  that  one  shall  be  cherished  at  the  expense  of  the 
other ;  and  it  is  added,  that  the  normal  branch  is  the  one, 
which  usually  suffers  from  neglect.  There  is  doubtless 
force,  in  both  of  these  considerations,  and  they  show  the  im- 
portance of  endeavouring  to  find  some  intermediate  line  of 
policy. 

Now  it  may  well  be  doubted,  whether  the  present  number 
of  our  academies  be  not  somewhat  greater  than  is  needed, 
since  some  of  them  seem  to  flourish  at  the  expense  of  com- 
mon schools.  On  the  other  hand,  the  grants  of  money, 
which  are  now  made  annually  from  the  Literature  Fund,  to 
assist  in  the  preparation  of  teachers,  are  distributed  among  so 
many  academies  that  they  do  little  good  to  any  one  of  them, 
and  create  no  sufficient  inducement,  on  their  part,  to  do  jus- 
tice to  this  branch  of  their  labours.  Would  it  not  be  better, 
to  reduce  materially  the  number  of  these  departments ;  ma- 
king the  allowance  to  each  one  so  great,  that  trustees  and 
instructers  would  feel  that  they  owed,  to  the  teachers'  depart- 
ment, their  first  and  chief  attention  ?  And  would  it  not  be 
well,  also,  that  the  classical  departments  in  the  same  acad- 
emies should  be  gradually  merged  in  the  teachers'  depart- 
ments ;  that  thus  a  small  number  of  these  institutions  mighft 
be  converted,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  into  District  Nor- 
mal Schools?  In  this  way,  four  or  more  of  these  district 
normal  schools  might  be  created  in  different  parts  of  the 
state,  without  furring  any  outlay  for  buildings  or  apparatus  ; 
and  (if  a  judicious  selection  of  the  academies  were  made) 
without  eye'n  any  essential  change  of  teachers.  A  sufficient 
number  <jf  academies  would  remain ;  and  the  Central  and 
DistrictSnoTma].  schools,  acting  and  reacting  on  each  other, 
would  operate  with  increased  efficiency,  and  would  rapidly 
revolutionize  the  teaching  of  our  common  schools. 


256  THE    SCHOOL   AND 

DEFECTIVE    SUPERVISION. 

I  come  now  to  speak  of  the  last  great  defect  in  the  work- 
ing of  our  common  school  system.  This  is  the  want  of 
proper  care  in  licensing  teachers  and  in  inspecting  schools. 

Common  school  teachers  are  confidential  agents ;  em- 
ployed, by  parents,  to  discharge  a  duty,  for  which  they  are 
themselves  disqualified,  by  the  want  either  of  the  necessary 
leisure,  or  of  the  requisite  ability.  Now  it  is  a  settled  prin- 
ciple, in  regard  to  all  agencies,  that  the  zeal  and  fidelity  of 
the  agent  will  be  proportioned,  to  the  care  and  enlightened 
interest,  with  which  his  proceedings  are  superintended  and 
encouraged  by  the  principal.  If  an  employer  manifests  lit- 
tle solicitude  about  his  business,  he  can  hardly  expect  great 
diligence  or  concern,  on  the  part  of  those  to  whom  he  in- 
trusts it.  This  is  so  universally  acknowledged,  that  a  gov- 
ernment, which  should  neglect  to  act  upon  it,  would  be  re- 
garded as  most  unwise  and  unfaithful.  In  every  depart- 
ment of  the  public  service,  a  rigid  system  of  accountability 
is  looked  upon  as  the  main  secret  for  securing  efficiency 
and  fidelity  ;  and  in  order  to  maintain  such  a  system,  princi- 
pals are  held  responsible  for  the  proceedings  of  their  sub- 
ordinates. 

The  reasons  for  all  this  are  obvious.  In  the  first  place, 
few  men  are  sufficiently  upright  and  disinterested,  to  be  in- 
trusted for  a  long  time  with  irresponsible  power,  or  with  an 
agency  which  no  human  eye  supervises. 

In  the  second  place,  if  such  were  not  the  case,  the  agent, 
however  faithful  and  devoted,  still  needs  the  animating  as- 
surance, that  his  labours  are  known  and  appreciated  by  his 
employer,  and  that  he  is  not  left  to  pursue  his  solitary  and 
exhausting  toils,  without  sympathy  or  approbation. 

In  the  third  place,  the  principal  should  overlook  the  op- 
erations of  his  agent,  for  his  own  sake ;  since  it  is  the  only 
way,  in  which  he  can  maintain  a  proper  interest  in,  or  a 
proper  knowledge  of,  affairs  which  pertain  to  him,  much 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER. 

more  intimately  than  to  any  one  else.  I  ought,  perhaps,  to 
add  here,  that  the  supervision,  for  which  I  contend,  is  a 
friendly,  or,  at  least,  an  impartial,  no  less  than  a  watchful 
one.  Principals  sometimes  exhibit  a  restless  and  suspi- 
cious spirit,  and  a  disposition  to  interfere  with  the  proceed- 
ings of  their  agent,  which  is  productive  of  no  benefit ;  while 
it  is  often  fraught  with  infinite  vexation  to  the  parties,  and 
with  nothing  but  mischief  to  the  service. 

Is  there  any  reason,  why  teachers  should  be  exempted 
from  the  operation  of  these  principles  ?  We  employ  them 
in  one  of  the  most  delicate  and  important  offices,  which  can 
be  intrusted  to  man.  On  their  fidelity  and  competency,  de- 
pend alike  our  own  happiness,  and  the  dearest  interests  of 
our  children.  They  are  charged  with  duties,  which  can 
be  properly  fulfilled,  only  by  those  who  have  a  rare  combi- 
nation of  intellectual  and  moral  qualities  ;  and,  however 
highly  endowed,  they  still  need,  if  they  are  to  labour  with 
pleasure  to  themselves,  or  profit  to  their  pupils,  the  counte- 
nance and  active  co-operation  of  their  employers.  What- 
ever reasons,  then,  require  that  a  wise  and  vigilant  super- 
vision should  be  applied  to  other  agencies,  hold,  in  their 
case,  with  tenfold  force.  Yet  in  this  country,  the  school- 
master, who  most  needs  supervision,  is  almost  the  only 
agent,  to  whom  no  supervision  is  extended.  He  enters  upon 
his  duties,  in  many  ca^es,  without  affording  any  adequate  ev- 
idence* that  he  is  qualified  for  them ;  and  he  discharges  or 

*  "  The  most  imperfect  arrangement  for  providing  teachers  is  that 
which  requires  an  examination  into  merely  the  knowledge  of  the  can- 
didate in  the  branches  to  be  taught.  This  is  specially  imperfect  in 
the  case  of  elementary  instruction,  where  the  knowledge  required 
is  small  in  amount,  and  where  the  art  of  teaching  finds  its  most  dif- 
ficult exercise.  The  erroneous  notion,  that  an  individual  can  teach 
whatever  he  knows,  is  now  generally  abandoned;  and  in  those 
countries  which  still  adhere  to  the  old  method,  of  depending  solely 
upon  examinations  for  securing  competent  teachers,  examination  is 
made,  not  only  of  the  acquirements  of  the  candidate,  but  of  his 
Y2 


258  THE    SCHOOL   AND 

neglects  them,  often  from  quarter  to  quarter,  without  notice 
or  animadversion. 

Whose  is  the  fault  1  The  law  has  provided  four  classes 
of  officers,  who  are  charged  with  the  duty,  of  examining 
teachers  or  superintending  their  operations.  1.  The  trus- 
tees of  each  district,  who  are  clothed  with  all  requisite  pow- 
ers, for  the  immediate  government  of  the  school  and  teach- 
er. 2.  The  inspectors  and  commissioners,  who  are  elected 
in  each  town,  and  whose  business  it  is  to  examine  teachers, 
and  to  make  a  tour  of  personal  inspection  through  all  the  dis- 
tricts, in  the  town,  in  each  year.  3.  The  deputy  superin- 
tendent, who  is  elected  in  each  county,  and  who  is  clothed 
with  most  important  advisory  powers  in  regard  to  schools, 
teachers,  &c.  4.  The  state  superintendent,  who,  besides 
a  general  supervision,  exercises  an  appellate  jurisdiction 
over  all  cases,  previously  decided  by  trustees,  inspectors, 
and  other  local  officers.  Of  these  four  classes,  the  first  two 
are  chosen  directly  by  the  people ;  the  third  is  chosen  by 
the  board  of  supervisors  in  each  county ;  and  the  fourth  by 
the  members  of  the  Senate  and  Assembly  of  the  state,  voting 
in  joint  ballot.  They  are  all,  therefore,  popular  officers. 

These  offices  have  been  created,  not  to  relieve  parents 
from  the  necessity  of  bestowing  their  personal  attention  on 
schools,  but  to  aid  them  in  performing  that  duty  more  effect- 
ually, and  also  to  subserve  other  important  purposes.  There 
are  certain  duties  connected  with  supervision,  such  as  the 
examining  and  licensing  of  teachers,  which  could  not  be 
properly  discharged  by  the  inhabitants,  collectively  or  separ- 
ately, even  though  all  were  competent  to  the  task.  There 
are  others,  again,  which  call  for  peculiar  qualifications  ;  and 
others  which  are  essentially  official,  since  the  object  is,  to 
keep  up  a  connexion  between  the  schools  and  the  state  au- 
thorities, and  to  impart  unity  and  harmony  to  the  whole  sys- 

ability  to  give  instruction." — BACHE'S  Report  on  Education  in  .Eu- 
rope, p.  323. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  259 

tern  of  primary  instruction.  But,  inasmuch  as  this  system 
was  instituted  for  the  sole  benefit  of  the  people,  and  must 
depend  for  its  efficiency  on  their  support  and  co-operation, 
the  law  has  devolved  on  them,  the  duty  of  choosing  those  of- 
ficers who  have  more  immediate  charge  of  the  schools,  and 
has  also  made  it  their  right,  to  visit  the  schools  personally. 
It  must  be  obvious,  then,  that  it  rests  with  the  people  them- 
selves, and  with  them  only,  to  decide,  how  far  there  shall  be 
thorough  and  searching  supervision.  If  they  are  careful  to 
elect  competent  trustees  and  inspectors,  and  to  encourage 
them  to  perform  their  important  duties,  faithfully  and  fear- 
lessly ;  and  if,  in  addition  to  this,  they  give  such  personal 
attention  to  the  teacher,  and  to  his  course  of  procedure,  as 
is  plainly  due  to  one,  who  is  moulding  the  character  and 
destiny  of  their  own  children,  then  all  will  be  well — other- 
wise, all  will  be  ill. 

What,  then,  has  hitherto  been  the  fact  ?  I  answer  by  a 
few  extracts  from  the  reports,  already  so  often  referred  to, 
of  the  special  visiters.  I  give  but  specimens,  the  returns 
being  filled  with  passages  of  the  same  import. 

And,  first,  in  regard  to  the  licensing  of  teachers.  "  Un- 
qualified and  unworthy  teachers  very  often  receive  certifi- 
cates of  qualification  and  character.  This  is  universally 
acknowledged  to  be  the  greatest  evil  our  schools  have  to 
contend  with.  Trustees  frequently  interfere  with  inspect- 
ors when  prejudiced  in  favour  of  the  applicant ;  and  inspect- 
ors being  chosen  at  political  meetings,  little  regard  is  had 
to  their  qualifications.  Again,  if  they  once  disregard  the 
views  and  wishes  of  one  set  of  trustees,  they  are  sure  to  be 
put  out  of  office  at  the  next  election.  Consequently,  thor- 
ough and  independent  men,  if  they  ever  get  the  office,  do  not 
hold  it  long  enough  to  work  anything  like  a  reformation. 
Under  these  circumstances,  few  men  try  to  do  anything  while 
they  are  in  office  more  than  merely  to  avoid  the  penalty  of 
the  law."  Thus  write  the  visiters  of  one  large  county. 


260  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

"  It  has  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  board,  that  the  law 
in  regard  to  qualified  teachers  is  evaded  in  its  spirit,  and 
that  schools  are,  in  consequence,  actually  instructed  by  per- 
sons having  no  certificate  of  qualification,  and  really  unable 
to  obtain  one  from  incompetency.  The  Avay  in  which  it  is 
done  is  to  employ,  for  four  months  in  the  summer,  when  the 
school  is  small,  a  female  teacher  having  a  certificate,  gen- 
erally at  a  very  low  rate,  say  eight  dollars  per  month.  This 
fulfils  the  letter  of  the  law,  and  enables  them  to  draw  the 
public  money.  For  the  residue  of  the  year  a  male  teacher 
is  employed,  without  a  certificate,  and  unqualified  for  the 
station.  The  low  rate  of  wages  he  is  willing  to  take  is 
the  inducement."  Thus  write  the  visitors  of  another  large 
county. 

"  Ten  years'  experience  in  common  school  teaching," 
says  another  visiter,  "  has  suggested  to  my  mind  many  im- 
provements. If  much  more  were  required  of  the  districts 
to  entitle  them  to  the  '  public  money,'  much  good  would  be 
the  result.  I  also  think  our  system  of  inspecting  teachers 
sadly  deficient.  Our  commissioners  and  inspectors  are 
elected  so  much  in  view  of  the  party,  that  many  can  be 
found  among  them  who  know  not  the  first  rudiments  of  an 
English  education." 

"  There  is  not,"  says  another,  il  sufficient  attention  paid 
by  the  inspectors  when  examining  teachers.  Generally 
there  is  too  great  Jaxness  in  not  refusing  those  who  are 
poorly  qualified.  Again,  if  a  teacher  gets  rejected  in  one 
town,  he  has  but  to  go  to  the  adjoining  one,  and  there  he 
gets  a  certificate  with  as  much  pomp  and  eclat  as  a  lord. 
What  he  should  be  examined  in  should  be  specified  by  law, 
and  not  left  for  the  inspectors  to  use  their  judgment  upon. 
While  young  men  who  are  too  lazy  to  work  can  find  a 
schbolhouse  to  while  away  three  or  four  months  of  the  win 
ter  in,  and  who  care  not  whether  they  do  well  or  ill,  as  at 
most  they  only  intend  to  teach  one,  two,  or  three  seasons, 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER.  261 

and,  consequently,  are  not  anxious  about  establishing  a  repu- 
tation as  good  teachers,  enterprising,  intelligent  men,  capa- 
ble of  teaching  well,  will  not  engage  in  teaching,  for  the 
very  reason  that  they  cannot  command  a  compensation  com- 
mensurate with  the  expenses  of  qualifying  themselves. 
They  can  find  much  better  business  after  advancing  thus 
far."  It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  much  consideration,  that,  in  or- 
der to  procure  a  supply  of  good  teachers,  we  must  begin  by 
excluding  bad  ones. 

2d.  In  regard  to  visitation  of  schools  by  inspectors,  trus- 
tees, and  parents. 

"  The  lamentable  condition  of  our  schools,"  says  one  of 
the  visiters,  "  may  be,  in  a  great  measure,  imputed  to  the  fact 
that  they  have  not  been  heretofore  visited  by  the  inspectors. 
Indeed,  the  public  schools  have  been  much  neglected  by  all 
concerned.  So  far  as  we  have -been  able  to  learn,  not  one 
in  five  of  the  schools  in  this  town  have,  in  any  year,  been 
visited  by  trustees  or  parents,  for  the  purpose  of  examining 
their  condition  or  encouraging  their  progress." 

Say  the  visiters  of  another  town,  "  In  connexion  with  the 
above  report  we  will  remark,  that,  among  the  evils  perva- 
ding our  district  schools,  the  general  apathy  of  the  people  on 
the  subject  is  the  most  prominent,  being,  in  our  opinion,  the 
one  from  which  most  of  the  others  arise.  Parents,  trustees, 
and  instructers  are  extremely  remiss  in  visiting  schools,  and 
manifest  little  or  no  interest  in  the  condition  of  the  school 
or  in  the  progress  of  their  children." 

Of  another  :  "  The  schools  in  this  town  have  not  been  blessed 
by  the  watchful  care  of  the  intelligent  and  the  educated,  nor  by 
the  supervision  of  the  parents  themselves" 

Of  another  :  "  It  appears  to  be  the  great  object  of  the  dis- 
tricts to  get  rid  of  the  public  money  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
get  more,  the  inhabitants  paying  little  or  no  attention  to  the 
schools  after  they  hire  the  teacher." 

Of  another :  "  It  is  painful  to  see  parents  so  inattentive 


262 

as  they  are  here.     It  would  seem  almost  right  to  compel  men 
to  do  their  duty." 

Of  the  10,769  common  schools  in  this  state,  more  than  one 
third  were  not  visited  by  the  inspectors,  at  all,  during  the  last 
year ;  and  but  one  quarter  were  visited  more  than  once. 
These  visits,  too,  were  often  useless.  "  The  inspectors 
often  sit  as  idle  spectators  instead  of  interested  persons,  on 
whom,  in  a  great  measure,  hangs  the  destiny  of  the  young. 
The  schoolroom  is  frequently  left  with  only  this  dry  expres- 
sion, '  We  are  pleased  with  the  school.'  " 

The  law  requires  that  each  inspector  shall  visit  all  the 
schools  in  the  town  once  in  each  year,  and  oftener,  if  in  his 
estimation  it  be  necessary.  That  more  frequent  visits  are 
necessary,  to  secure  anything  like  thorough  supervision, 
must  be  evident ;  yet  they  do  not  seem  to  be  encouraged  by 
the  people.  We  have  known  instances  in  which  inspect- 
ors and  commissioners  have  been  refused  re-election  on  the  ex- 
press ground  that,  being  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  schools, 
they  had  thought  it  their  duty  to  visit  more  than  once  annually. 
The  law  providing  for  the  remuneration  of  inspectors 
seems  to  be  defective.  It  derives  this  remuneration  from  a 
tax  on  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  ;  and  thus  makes  it  their 
pecuniary  interest,  tq  discourage  the  frequent  and  faithful 
performance  of  a  duty  so  important  to  their  children,  and  to 
the  common  welfare.  It  would  contribute  much  to  a  reform 
of  this  evil,  if  the  expense  were  defrayed  by  the  county,  or 
by  the  state. 

It  was  to  supplytijiA  lamentable  deficiency  on  the  part 
of  trustees,  town  inspectors,  and  parents,  that  the  office  of 
deputy  superintendent  was  created.  It  is  the  business  of 
this  officer  "  to  visit  the  schools  personally,  give  counsel  and 
instruction  as  to  their  management,  discover  errors  and  sug- 
gest the  proper  remedy,  animate  the  exertions  of  teachers, 
trustees,  jand  parents,  and  impart  vigour  to  the  whole  sys-. 
tern."  Raving  no  authority  except  to  grant  and  revoke  1U 


THE  SCHOOLMASTER.  263 

censes  to  teachers,  it  is  their  main  duty  to  awaken  interest, 
diffuse  correct  notions  in  regard  to  education,  and  ascertain 
the  precise  condition  of  the  several  schools,  and  the  general 
state  and  prospects  of  primary  instruction,  in  their  respect- 
ive counties.  As  the  efficiency  of  the  schools  must  de- 
pend chiefly  on  local  efforts,  and  especially  on  the  efforts  of 
trustees,  teachers,  and  employers^  it  is  to  encourage  and  sus- 
tain these,  that  the  deputy  superintendents  should  feel  them- 
selves especially  called. 

It  is  a  subject  for  deep  regret,  that  the  law  establishing 
this  office,  imposes  one  half  of  the  annual  expense  of  main- 
taining it,  on  the  county  in  which  the  deputy  labours ;  and 
thus  predisposes  the  inhabitants,  to  regard  it  as  a  burden 
rather  than  a  blessing.  In  this  case,  as  in  that  of  the  town 
inspectors,  it  is  much  to  be  desired,  that  the  law  should  be 
so  framed,  that  the  public  will  feel  interested  in  promoting, 
rather  than  in  obstructing,  a  thorough  supervision.  That 
such  is  really  their  interest,  no  reflecting  person  can  doubt ; 
and  it  is  believed  that  no  county  can  make  the  experiment, 
of  employing  an  able  and  judicious  superintendent  for  a  few 
years,  without  feeling,  that  his  sendees  are  worth  tenfold  all 
that  they  cost.  Indeed,  these  services  tend  directly  to  di- 
minish expense.  In  whatever  degree,  they  contribute  to 
raise  the  standard  of  teaching,  or  to  improve  school  disci- 
pline, or  to  stimulate  parents,  trustees,  and  town  inspectors 
to  a  more  punctual  and  earnest  discharge  of  their  duties, 
in  the  same  degree  will  they  -abridge  the  time,  and,  of 
course,  the  expense,  necessary  in  order  to  impart  a  given 
amount  of  instruction  to  a  child.  The  creation  of  this  office 
seemed  to  be  loudly  called  for,  from  all  parts  of  the  state. 
The  law  is  framed,  nearly  on  the  model  of  that  which  is 
considered  the  best  law  for  securing  school  inspection,  that 
the  world  has  yet  seen  ;*  and  it  is  regarded  now,  by  the 

*  Reference  is  here  made  to  the  system  of  school  inspection  in 


264  THE    SCHOOL    AND 

most  enlightened  friends  of  popular  instruction  throughout 
the  country,  and,  I  may  add,  throughout  the  world,  as  the 
one  measure,  without  which,  our  system  must  have  remain- 
ed comparatively  inert ;  but  with  which,  it  must,  if  properly 
sustained,  rise  to  excellence,  and  cover  itself  with  honour. 
May  the  people  be  too  wise,  to  brook  the  idea  of  its  repeal, 
until  its  merits  have  been  fairly  tested  by  trial ! 

Holland.  Each  province  is  divided  into  a  number  of  districts ;  a 
district  being  about  equal  in  population,  to  one  of  our  counties.  An 
inspector  is  appointed  for  each  district,  whose  duty  it  is  to  superin- 
tend the  schools,  attend  examinations,  preside  at  periodical  assem- 
blies of  the  schoolmasters,  &c.  To  use  the  language  of  Cousin, 
they  are  "  the  officers  in  whose  hands  the  whole  system  of  primary 
instruction  is  virtually  placed."  Hence  the  care  with  which  they 
are  always  selected.  "  Take  care,"  said  Mr.  Van  den  Ende,  chief 
commissioner  for  the  primary  schools  of  Holland,  "  take  care  whom 
you  choose  for  inspectors  ;  they  are  a  class  of  men  who  ought  to  be 
searched  for,  with  a  lantern  in  one's  hand." 

There  is  one  provision  of  the  Dutch  law.  which  might  be  ingraft- 
ed with  much  advantage  upon  our  own.  It  is  the  plan  of  having 
provincial  boards  of  education,  composed  of  the  inspectors  of  the  sev- 
eral districts  in  each  province,  who  meet  three  times  a  year  in  the 
chief  town  of  the  province.  The  same  end  would  be  attained,  in  our 
state,  if  the  deputy  superintendents,  within  each  senatorial  district, 
were  to  meet  twice  or  thrice  a  year  at  some  central  point,  and  were 
there  to  constitute  a  board  for  mutual  consultation,  and  were  to  be 
clothed  with  authority  over  certain  matters. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  intelligent  travellers,  that  education  is,  on  the 
whole,  more  faithfully  carried  out  in  Holland  than  in  most  of  the 
German  states  ;  and  that,  notwithstanding  the  numerous  normal 
schools  of  Prussia  (institutions  in  which  Holland  is  deficient),  the 
Dutch  schoolmasters  are  decidedly  superior  to  the  Prussian,  and 
the  schools  of  primary  instruction  consequently  in  a  more  efficient 
state.  This  superiority  they  attribute  entirely  to  a  belter  system,  of  in- 
spection. 


PART    II. 


THE    SCHOOLMASTER. 


PROPER  CHARACTER,  STUDIES,  AND  DUTIES  OF  THE  TEACHER, 

WITH   THE 

BEST    METHODS    FOR    THE    GOVERNMENT    AND    INSTRUCTION    OF    COM- 
MON   SCHOOLS, 


PRINCIPLES    ON    WHICH    SCHOOLHOUSES    SHOULD    BE    BUILT,    ARRANGED, 
WARMED,    AND    VENTILATED. 


GEORGE    B.    EMERSON. 


BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED  BY  WM.  B.  FOWLE  &  N.  CAPEN, 

NO.   181   WASHINGTON    ST*. 

1843. 


PREFACE. 


IN  the  following  pages  I  have  endeavoured  to  give  an 
outline  of  what  I  consider  most  essential  in  the  character, 
studies,  habits,  and  duties  of  a  teacher,  and  to  present  some 
of  the  most  important  methods  and  rules  of  teaching  and 
governing.  In  doing  this,  I  have  made  free  use  of  what  I 
found  written  upon  the  subject,  my  object  being  not  so  much 
to  write  an  original  treatise,  as  to  collect  what  would  be 
most  valuable  to  the  teacher  of  a  common  school.  The 
writers  to  whom  I  am  most  indebted  are  J.  Abbott,  T.  H. 
Palmer,  and  S.  R.  Hall,  from  "  The  Teacher,"  and  "  The 
Teacher's  Manual,"  of  the  two  former  of  whom  I  have, 
with  their  consent,  made  large  quotations,  and  should  have 
made  still  larger  if  I  had  not  known  that  these  works  were 
in  the  hands  of  many  persons  interested  in  education,  as 
they  ought  to  be  in  all.  Important  suggestions  have  also 
been  received  from  Lalor,  Colburn.  and  others. 

The  great  number  of  subjects  of  which  it  was  necessary 
to  treat,  in  a  limited  space,  has  prevented  my  going  fully  into 
any  of  them.  This  is  particularly  the  case  with  the  chap- 
ter on  the  Cultivation  of  the  Faculties,  which  is  little  more 
than  an  indication  of  what  should  be  done.  General  prin- 
ciples only  are  commonly  given ;  and  if  repetition  be  some- 
times observed,  let  it  be  understood  that  certain  points 


268  PREFACE. 

seemed  to  be  so  essentially  important  as  to  deserve  to  be 
reiterated. 

The  chapter  on  the  General  Principles  of  Instruction  I 
commend  to  the  attention  of  practical  educators,  particular 
ly  to  the  superintendents  of  normal  schools,  not  as  being 
of  great  value  in  itself,  for  it  may,  perhaps,  be  considered 
more  defective  than  any  other  chapter,  but  from  the  impor- 
tance of  a  system  of  didactics,  of  which  this  is  offered  as  a 
rude  and  imperfect  sketch. 

Whatever  there  is  of  original  in  the  work,  is  the  fruit  of 
many  years'  experience  in  teaching,  laborious  but  pleasant 
years,  which  have  been  cheered  and  rendered  still  more 
pleasant  by  the  feeling  that  I  was  gradually  finding  my 
way  to  higher  and  more  comprehensive  modes  of  instruc- 
tion, and  more  just  and  generous  principles  of  influence  and 
government. 

Of  the  faults  of  the  work — begun  at  the  suggestion  of 
another,  for  a  particular  object,  to  be  completed  at  a  speci- 
fied time,  composed  amid  numerous  cares,  and  always  with 
a  mind  and  body  sufficiently  exhausted  by  daily  toil — no 
one  can  be  more  sensible  than  the  writer.  With  all  its 
faults,  I  commit  it  to  the  generosity  of  my  brother  and  sister 
teachers,  for  whose  use  it  was  written,  assuring  them  that 
no  one  will  rejoice  more  than  myself  to  see  the  methods 
and  principles  it  recommends  giving  place  to  better. 

G.  B.  E 

Boston,  August  3,  1842. 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION 271 

BOOK  I. 

QUALITIES. 

CHAPTER  I.  Mental  and  Moral,  important  in  a  Teacher      .        .  277 
II.  Health.    Exercise.    Diet.     Sleep.    Recreation     .  288 

BOOK  II. 

STUDIES. 

CHAPTER  I.  Laws  of  the  Creation     . " 300 

II.  Natural  Laws 311 

III.  Independence  of  the  Natural  Laws         .        .        .315 

IV.  Higher  Studies       '.    ' 320 

V.  Advantages  of  a  Teacher's  Life     ....  329 

BOOK   III. 

DUTIES. 

CHAPTER  I.  To  Himself.     Self- Culture 337 

II.  To  his  Pupils,  to  give  them  means  of  Knowledge  .  341 

III.  "          "        to  form  their  Moral  Character .        .343 

IV.  "          "        Cultivation  of  their  Powers     .        .  359 
V.       "          "        Communication  of  Knowledge          .  378 

VI.  To  his  Fellow-Teachers 385 

VII.  To  Parents  and  the  Community      ....  390 

BOOK    IV. 

THE    SCHOOL. 

CHAPTER  I.  Organization 394 

II.  Instruction.     General  Principles    ....  405 

III.  Teaching:    1.  Reading.     2.  Spelling.     3.   Gram- 


270  CONTENTS. 

mar.    4.  Writing.    5.  Drawing.     6.  Arithmetic. 
7.  Accounts.     8.  Geography.    9.  History.     10. 
Physiology.     11.  Composition    ....  419 
CHAPTER  IV.  Government 48? 

BOOK  V. 

THE    SCHOOLHOUSE. 

CHAPTER  I.  Situation 526 

II.  Size 528 

III.  Position  and  Arrangement 531 

IV.  Light.    Warming.    Ventilation      .        .        .        -534 


INTRODUCTION. 


"  Surely  the  great  aim  of  an  enlightened  and  benevolent  philoso- 
phy is  not  to  rear  a  small  number  of  individuals,  who  may  be  regard- 
ed as  prodigies  in  an  ignorant  and  admiring  age,  but  TO  DIFFUSE,  AS 
WIDELY  AS  POSSIBLE,  that  degree  of  cultivation  which  may  enable  the 
bulk  of  a  people  to  possess  all  the  intellectual  and  moral  improve- 
ment of  which  their  nature  is  susceptible." — STEWAKT. 

THE  wisest  and  best  men  that  have  appeared  upon 
earth  have  come  as  teachers.  In  remote  antiquity,  Con- 
fucius came,  a  teacher  of  righteousness  and  wisdom  among 
the  Chinese.  In  refined  and  polished  Greece,  the  wise 
Socrates  was  a  teacher ;  and  the  most  distinguished  men 
of  Athens  walked  with  him  about  its  streets,  or  in  the  groves 
in  its  neighbourhood,  to  listen  to  his  instructions.  His  pu- 
pils, Plato  and  Aristotle,  were  teachers  ;  and  their  teach- 
ings have  enlightened  and  influenced  the  world  down  to 
the  present  time.  Through  all  the  history  of  the  Jews, 
their  most  venerable  men  were  teachers  ;  to  this  day  they 
are  teachers  by  their  writings.  Our  Saviour  was  first 
known  as  a  teacher  of  righteousness.  He  is  still  our  teach- 
er. The  office  of  teacher  is  in  its  nature  the  highest  office. 
That  it  is  not  universally  considered  such,  comes  from  the 
fact  that  so  many  have  entered  upon  it  without  fitness  of 
mind  or  character  for  its  numerous  duties,  and  that  men  are 
only  beginning  to  estimate  things  according  to  their  true 
value. 

If  a  stranger  should  go  into  one  of  our  cotton  manufacto- 
ries, and,  seeing  all  the  wheels  and  spindles  moving  on 
harmoniously  and  regularly,  each  performing  its  own  part 
without  interfering  with  the  rest,  and  all  doing  their  work 
well,  should  conceive  that  he  could,  without  any  knowledge 


272  INTRODUCTION. 

of  the  principles  on  which  the  machinery  is  constructed,  or 
of  the  kind  of  work  that  it  ought  to  turn  out,  superintend 
and  carry  on  the  whole  work,  and  should  gravely  propose 
to  the  directors  to  take  charge  of  it,  they  might  possibly 
consider  the  proposition  as  indicating  something  of  self-suf- 
ficiency and  presumption.  And  yet,  if  this  same  stranger, 
without  experience,  without  special  instruction,  without  ac- 
quired skill,  but  only  with  testimonials  that  he  had  a  fair  char- 
acter, and  could  read  and  write,  should  apply,  in  the  same 
town,  to  the  same  directors,  acting  as  a  school  committee,  or 
as  supervisors,  for  the  place  of  teacher  in  one  of  their  schools, 
he  would  be  considered  as  making  a  very  modest  request, 
and  would  probably  consider  himself  hardly  dealt  with  if 
he  were  not  allowed  to  make  a  trial.  And  what  is  the  dif- 
ference ?  In  the  one  case,  every  Avheel  and  spindle,  every 
cog,  and  cam,  and  spool,  and  thread,  obeys  perfectly  the  law 
to  which  it  is  subjected  ;  a  certain  force  gives  a  certain  ve- 
locity, which  keeps  on  undeviatingly  until  it  is  interrupted 
from  without.  In  the  other  case,  in  the  school,  every 
wheel  and  spindle  has  a  will  of  its  own,  and  every  one  is 
constantly  liable  to  be  disordered  by  interruption,  not  only 
from  without,  but  from  within.  Notwithstanding,  you  would 
hear  the  man  who  should  undertake  to  manage  this  assem- 
blage of  dead  matter,  contrived  by  man,  and  easily  compre 
hensible  by  man, 'following  blindly  che  laws  of  gravity  and 
of  motion,  without  previously  understanding  the  structure  of 
each  part,  and  all  the  nice  and  delicate  adaptations  by  which 
they  were  suited  to  each  other, — you  would  hear  him  called 
a  foolhardy,  and  conceited  fellow  ;  while  the  same  individu- 
al, coming  forward  not  only  to  manage  and  direct,  but  to 
improve  that  other  infinitely  more  delicate  machinery,  every 
part  of  which  is  instinct  with  will  and  spirit,  and  every 
part  made  by  an  artificer,  the  simplest  workmanship  of 
whom  the  wisest  man  can  but  poorly  comprehend,  would 
be  called  a  modest  and  humble  man,  who  would  doubtless 


INTRODUCTION.  273 

succeed  well  enough  if  he  would  but  condescend  to  under- 
take the  task. 

And  is  it,  indeed,  so  small  a  matter  to  take  charge  of  a 
school  of  thinking,  immortal  beings,  to  educate  their  faculties, 
and  prepare  them  for  all  the  business  and  duties  of  life,  with- 
out some  previous  study  of  the  nature  of  those  beings,  and 
some  serious  consideration  of  the  manner  in  which  'hey 
shall  be  best  fitted  for  their  future  position  and  relations  in 
life? 

The  importance  and  responsibility  of  the  office  of  teacher 
are  sadly  undervalued.  A  very  common  impression  is,  that 
any  person  of  tolerable  character,  who  has  been  through  a 
school,  and  acquired  the  elements  of  the  branches  taught,  is 
qualified  to  teach ;  as  if  the  art  of  teaching  were  nothing 
more  than  pouring  into  the  mind  of  another  what  has  been 
poured  into  ours  ;  as  if  there  were  no  such  thing  as  mind 
to  act  upon,  habits  to  form,  or  character  to  influence. 
The  prevailing  opinions  in  regard  to  the  art  are  such  as 
the  common  sense  of  mankind  and  the  experience  of  cen- 
turies have  shown  to  be  absurd  as  to  every  other  art  and 
pursuit  of  civilized  life.  To  be  qualified  to  discourse  upon 
our  moral  and  religious  duties,  a  man  must  be  educated 
by  years  of  study ;  to  be  able  to  administer  to  tne  body  in 
disease,  he  must  be  educated  by  a  careful  examination  of 
the  body  in  health  and  in  disease,  and  of  the  effects  produ- 
ced on  it  by  external  agents  ;  to  be  able  to  make  out  a  con- 
veyance of  property,  or  to  draw  a  writ,  he  must  be  educated  ; 
to  navigate  a  ship,  he  must  be  educated  by  years  of  service 
before  the  mast  or  on  the  quarter-deck ;  to  transfer  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  earth  or  of  art  from  the  producer  to  the  consu- 
mer, he  must  be  educated  ;  to  make  a  hat  or  a  coat,  he  must 
be  educated  by  years  of  apprenticeship ;  to  make  a  plough, 
he  must  be  educated ;  to  make  a  nail,  or  a  shoe  for  a  horse 
or  an  ox,  he  must  be  educated ;  but  to  prepare  a  man  to 
do  all  these  things ;  to  train  the  body,  in  its  most  ten- 


274  INTRODUCTION. 

der  years,  according  to  the  laws  of  hea/th,  so  that  it  shall 
be  strong  to  resist  disease ;  to  fill  the  mind  with  useful 
knowledge,  to  educate  it  to  comprehend  all  the  relations  of 
society,  to  bring  out  all  its  powers  into  full  and  harmonious 
action ;  to  educate  the  moral  nature,  in  which  the  very  sen- 
timent of  duty  resides,  that  it  may  be  fitted  for  an  honoura- 
ble and  worthy  fulfilment  of  the  public  and  private  offices 
of  life  ;  to  do  all  this  is  supposed  to  require  no  study,  no  ap- 
prenticeship, no  preparation ! 

Fortunately,  this  state  of  feeling  and  opinion  is  passing 
away.  Men  are  beginning  to  see  that,  however  valuable 
property  may  be  to  them,  the  happiness  and  character  of 
their  children  are  much  more  so  :  that  it  is  of  consequence 
who  shall  be  their  guides,  the  formers  of  their  habits,  and 
the  instructors  of  their  minds  in  the  plastic  period  of  their 
life  ;  that  it  is  quite  as  important  to  get  suitable  persons  to 
take  charge  of  their  schools,  as  of  their  factories,  workshops, 
or  farms.  Everything  indicates  this  change :  the  acts  of 
legislative  bodies  in  reference  to  the  common  schools,  the 
earnest  inquiries  of  school  committees  and  individuals  for 
better  teachers,  and  that  not  in  one  or  two  states  only,  but 
in  the  whole  country, — everything  shows  that  the  value  of 
good  instruction  is  already  felt,  and  that  a  higher  tone  on 
this  subject  is  beginning  to  prevail. 

It  is  with  reference  to  this  change,  and  in  consequence  of 
it,  that  this  volume  is  prepared.  It  is  an  advantage  pos- 
sessed by  the  business  of  teaching  over  most  others,  that 
very  much  can  be  done  towards  preparing  for  it  by  self-cul- 
tivation. Its  object  is  the  culture  of  the  faculties  and  the 
elevation  of  the  character.  How  this  is  best  to  be  done 
must  be  found  out,  in  some  measure,  by  the  study  of  the  fac- 
ulties and  of  the  elements  of  the  character,  as  they  exist 
within  the  mind  of  the  student  himself.  To  this  end  the 
experience  of  each  individual,  however  humble,  is  valuable. 
He  must  be  instructed  by  reflection  on  the  operations  of  his 


INTRODUCTION.  275 

own  mind,  on  the  action  of  his  own  affections  and  propen- 
sities. This  is  a  most  important  part  of  the  study ;  and  if 
the  faculties,  affections,  and  propensities  of  all  men  were 
alike,  it  might  almost  take  the  place  of  all  other  modes  of 
study.  But  the  most  cursory  inspection  of  the  children  in 
any  school,  or  even  family,  is  sufficient  to  show  that  they 
differ  extremely  in  the  degree  in  which  they  are  naturally 
endowed  with  the  various  powers  of  the  mind  and  other  el- 
ements of  the  character,  and  in  the  facility  with  which 
these  are  cultivated.  This*renders  it  necessary  for  us  to 
profit  by  the  experience  of  others.  It  is  our  own  character 
only  that  we  can  know  perfectly  by  looking  into  our  own 
hearts.  To  know  others,  we  must  be  able  to  look  into 
theirs,  or,  since  that  cannot  be  done,  we  must  take  advan- 
tage of  the  conclusions  to  which  they  have  come  from  the 
study  of  their  own  character,  and  their  observation  on  the 
character  and  faculties  of  others. 

Still  more  necessary  is  it  to  avail  ourselves  of  the  obser- 
vation and  experience  of  others  in  our  attempts  to  teach, 
to  call  out  and  to  discipline  the  powers  of  the  mind,  to 
communicate  in  the  best  manner  the  important  arts  of  read- 
ing, writing,  and  calculating,  and  whatever  else  is  or  should 
be  deemed  essential  in  a  good  education,  and  to  exert  a 
wholesome  and  permanent  influence  over  the  future  charac- 
ter. In  regard  to  all  or  any  of  these  things,  each  one  of  us 
can  have  made  but  few  observations  or  experiments  on  him- 
self, when  he  begins  the  work  of  instructing  others.  Each 
of  us  has  been  taught  to  read  by  some  one  particular  method. 
If  the  method  was  a  good  one,  we  enjoy  all  its  benefits  our 
whole  life  long,  but  we  can  have  no  idea  of  the  ill  effects  of 
bad  methods  that  we  have  not  tried.  If,  on  the  contrary, 
the  method  by  which  we  have  been  taught  is  a  bad  one,  we 
must  daily  feel  its  effects,  in  the  little  enjoyment  we  derive 
from  reading,  or  in  the  difficulty  we  find  in  commanding  our 
attention  and  fixing  it  on  the  book  before  us,  or  in  the  little 


276  INTRODUCTION. 

pleasure  we  can  communicate  to  others  by  reading  aloud. 
But  experience  of  the  evil  consequences  of  a  bad  method 
does  not  necessarily  teach  us  anything  in  regard  to  a  better, 
and  we  must  learn  from  others  that  there  are  methods  by 
means  of  which  we  might  have  acquired  a  distinctness 
of  articulation,  a  command  of  our  attention,  and  a  love  of 
reading,  which  would  have  made  it  a  perennial  source  of  en- 
joyment and  improvement  to  ourselves  and  to  others.  Sim- 
ilar observations  might  be  made  upon  other  branches  of  study. 
The  sad  conviction  that  we  have  wasted  our  time  upon  a 
bad  method,  does  not  teach  us  that  there  is  a  better.  To 
learn  this,  we  must  make  inquiries  ;  we  must  ask  those  who 
have  tried  experiments  upon  themselves  or  others.  It  is  of 
vast  importance  to  a  teacher  to  have  access  to  a  large  store 
of  successful  experiments. 

The  objects  of  the  following  work  are, 

I.  To  point  out  what  qualities  are  important  in  a  teacher. 

-J.  To  show  by  what  course  of  study  and  thought  he 
should  discipline  himself. 

3.  To  point  out  particularly  the  duties  of  the  teacher  of  a 
common  school. 

4.  To  recommend  some  modes  of  performing  them ;  that 
is:  to  speak  of  the  studies,  modes  of  teaching,  discipline, 
and  government  of  such  a  school. 


BOOK    I. 

QUALITIES. 
CHAPTER  I. 

THE  MORAL  QUALITIES  IMPORTANT  IN  A  TEACHER. 

"  Every  teacher  who  understands  and  who  practices  the  genuine 
ethics  of  his  profession,  contributes  more  largely  than  any  person  ex- 
cept a  teacher  can  do,  to  the  elevation  of  the  profession  itself,  and 
thereby  to  its  elevation  in  the  public  esteem." — E.  HIGGINSON. 

THE  teacher  of  the  common  school  has,  in  so  many  in- 
stances, been  appointed  without  choice ;  so  often  has  he 
been  an  entire  stranger  to  the  work  and  to  the  district,  or  an 
applicant  of  whom  it  was  only  known  that  he  needed  the 
place,  and  would  take  it  at  a  low  rate  of  wages  ;  and  so  oft- 
en his  only  recommendation  has  been  that  he  could  find  no 
other  employment,  that  in  many  places  the  question  of  qual- 
ifications has  become  almost  obsolete.  A  natural  effect  has 
been,  that  the  office  of  teacher  has  come  to  be  looked  upon 
by  many  as  a  low  and  unimportant  office,  and  the  qualifica- 
tions for  it  have  been  thought  of  little  consequence.  This 
view  of  the  matter  is  totally  wrong  and  false.  Thousands 
are  so  situated  that  they  must  receive  their  whole  prepara- 
tion for  future  life  at  the  district  school.  Here  the  bias 
which  is  to  shape  their  course  is  given.  The  heart  and  the 
head,  the  health  of  the  body  and  of  the  mind,  will  depend, 
in  a  great  degree,  upon  what  is  done  or  what  fails  to  be  done 
here.  Here  the  scroll  of  knowledge  is  to  be  unfolded  to 
them ;  or,  if  it  be  not  unfolded,  their  future  path  will  lie  in 
darkness.  They  are  here  at  the  period  of  life  when  their 
whole  nature  is  in  the  highest  degree  susceptible  of  im- 
pressions, good  or  bad.  They  may  be  moulded  almost  like 
AA 


278  QUALITIES. 

clay.  They  are  impressible,  impulsive,  and  full  of  sympa- 
thy. Everything  noble  and  generous,  as  well  as  everything 
base  and  selfish,  in  the  teacher,  may  waken  an  echo  in  the 
heart  of  a  child.  They  are  creatures  of  imitation.  Every 
quality  in  the  character  of  the  teacher  becomes  an  element 
in  forming  theirs.  Who  will  dare  to  say  that  the  character 
of  a  parent  is  of  little  consequence  in  forming  the  character 
of  a  child  ?  Yet  children  often  receive  a  far  deeper  impres- 
sion from  the  teacher,  who  is  with  them  several  hours  in  the 
day,  than  from  a  father,  who  may  not  be  with  them  so  many 
hours  in  a  week.  Ought  we  not  rather  to  say  that  every 
circumstance  in  the  character  of  a  teacher  is  of  the  highest 
importance,  as  it  must  produce  an  effect,  not  upon  the  five 
or  six  of  a  single  family,  but  upon  the  fifty  or  hundred  of  a 
district  ? 

What,  then,  are  the  qualities  which  should  form  the  char- 
acter of  the  teacher,  for  his  own  sake  and  for  the  sake  of  his 
pupils  ? 

He  should  be  patient ;  otherwise  the  anxieties  and  dis- 
couragements of  his  office  will  vex  him,  and  soon  wear  him 
out.  The  words  of  instruction  have  been  compared  by  the 
greatest  of  Teachers  to  seed  sown  in  the  earth.  The 
growth  of  virtue,  of  truth,  and  of  knowledge,  cannot  be 
seen.  He  who  has  sown  the  seed  must  wait  days,  and 
weeks,  and  months,  and  even  years,  before  he  can  expect 
to  see  its  fruits.  Patience  is  one  of  the  great  virtues  he 
must  inculcate  on  his  pupils.  The  art  which  it  is  an  impor- 
tant business  of  an  instructer  of  a  common  school  to  com- 
municate, the  art  of  reading,  is  perhaps  the  most  difficult  of 
all  arts.  Consider  how  many  things  it  requires  ;  how  many 
varieties  of  sound, — how  many  letters,  each  representing, 
not  one,  but  several  sounds, — how  many  combinations  of 
sounds,— how  many  thousands  of  words  must  be  made  fa- 
miliar, not  merely  to  the  eye  as  representatives  of  sounds, 
but  to  the  understanding  as  significant  of  ideas.  Consider, 


PATIENCE HOPEFULNESS CHEERFULNESS.   279 

too,  how  volatile  and  impatient  of  continued  application  the 
mind  of  the  child  is  ;  how  impatient  of  restraint  is  his  body ; 
how  many  times  he  must  be  recalled,  and  recalled  kindly, 
to  his  task,  before  it  can  be  accomplished.  If  there  is  any 
work  assigned  to  man  which  requires  untiring,  inexhaust- 
ible patience,  it  is  this.  Let  it  not  be  said  that  this  is  a 
poor  and  humble  virtue.  Humble  indeed  it  is,  but  not 
poor.  Many  of  the  greatest  of  men,  Newton,  Pascal,  Buf- 
fon,  and  others,  have  declared  it  a  principal  element  of  their 
genius ;  and  so  it  must  be,  for  it  is  essential  to  the  accom- 
plishment of  every  great  undertaking. 

To  be  patient,  the  teacher  must  be  hopeful.  Let  him  not 
be  discouraged  that  he  accomplishes  no  more.  All  real 
progress  is,  by  the  law  of  nature,  slow.  The  growth  of 
the  oak  is  imperceptible,  and  it  requires  a  hundred  years  to 
come  to  maturity.  He  who  has  sown  the  acorn  must  re- 
member that  it  is  an  oak  which  is  to  grow  from  it.  All 
virtue  is  modest,  silent,  unobtrusive,  hiding  itself;  and  the 
highest  virtues  are  most  so.  Of  all  things,  the  human  char- 
acter is  most  slowly  brought  to  perfection.  We  must  sow 
the  seeds  of  good  principles,  and  hope  for  the  harvest.  "  In 
due  time  we  shall  reap,  if  we  faint  not." 

While  we  hope,  all  labour  is  light.  Hopefulness  is  con- 
tagious. The  pupil  catches  ardour  from  our  hope,  and, 
thinking  that  he  can  accomplish  all  things,  can.  But  de- 
spair deadens  the  energies.  It  is  like  the  icy  sarcar  of 
Eastern  fables.  It  blasts  whatever  it  breathes  upon.  It 
passes  over  the  valley,  and  the  buds  are  nipped  and  the 
leaves  blackened,  and  nothing  remains  but  scathed  trunks. 
Let  him  who  is  prone  to  despair  go  away  and  despair  by 
himself,  in  the  field  or  the  workshop.  Let  him  not  blight 
youthful  hopes,  and  chill  the  warm  glow  of  confidence,  by 
this  death-wind. 

The  teacher  should  be  cheerful.'  Cheerfulness  in  the 
face  of  a  teacher  is  sunshine  to  the  child ;  and  while  it  gives 


280  QUALITIES. 

play  to  all  the  faculties  of  its  possessor,  quickens  into  life 
and  healthy  action  the  powers  of  those  around  him.  It  dif- 
fuses happiness  in  the  school ;  and  if  there  were  no  other 
reason  for  its  being  a  teacher's  duty  to  be  cheerful,  this 
would  be  sufficient.  For  why  should  not  the  years  of 
childhood  be,  what  the  benevolent  Father  willed  them  to 
be,  happy  ?  Is  it  not  desirable  that  happiness  should  be- 
come habitual  ?  The  cheerful  worker  can  do  more  and  bet- 
ter than  the  sad  one ;  and  the  dark  cloud  that  comes  over 
a  school  from  the  lowering  of  a  gloomy  brow,  strikes  a  chill 
not  only  into  the  heart,  but  into  the  very  power  of  action. 

Cheerfulness  should  be  natural  to  the  teacher  ;  and  who- 
ever has  a  morose,  sullen,  and  gloomy  temper,  should  seek 
some  other  employment.  It  may  be  answered,  perhaps, 
that  cheerfulness  is  not  always  constant,  even  to  the  natu- 
rally cheerful ;  that  it  depends  on  the  health  of  the  body. 
True  ;  the  teacher  should  therefore  study  and  obey  the  laws 
of  health,  that  he  may  not  be  a  source  of  unhappiness  to 
others  by  his  neglect.  But  of  this  hereafter. 

The  teacher  should  be  generous,  unsuspicious,  open, 
frank.  These  excellent  and  beautiful  qualities  should  be 
cultivated  in  children.  They  cannot  be  well  taught  by  pre- 
cept ;  they  must  be  communicated  by  the  sympathy  of  exam- 
ple. There  is  a  nobleness  in  the  heart  of  a  child  which  re- 
sponds to  the  same  quality  in  another.  Approach  him  with 
kind  and  unsuspecting  confidence,  and  you  disarm  his  cal- 
culating selfishness.  You  place  all  that  is  generous  and 
noble  in  him  on  your  side.  Your  openness  begets  open- 
ness in  his  breast.  I  have  seen  this  course  tried  with  en- 
tire success  in  the  management  of  a  large  school  of  boys, 
collected  from  all  the  quarters  of  a  great  city ;  from  schools 
in  which  every  variety  of  government  had  been  exercised, 
from  generous  sentiment  and  sympathy  to  brutal  violence, 
where  a  word  was  followed  by  a  blow.  To  this  motley 
collection  a  young  teacher  addressed  himself.  He  told 


FRANKNESS GENEROSITY LOVE    OP    CHILDREN.  281 

them  that,  though  somewhat  older  than  they,  he  was  young 
enough  to  understand  their  feelings ;  that  he  should  try 
the  experiment  of  trusting  to  their  honour,  and  should  never 
strike  a  blow,  or  adopt  other  harsh  measures,  until  they  com- 
pelled him.  In  so  large  a  number,  of  course,  order  must 
exist,  and  obedience  was  essential.  He  should  endeavour 
to  be  reasonable,  and  should  treat  them  as  reasonable  be- 
ings. If  they  would  allow  him,  he  would  always  conduct 
towards  them  as  if  they  were  his  younger  brothers.  He 
believed  there  was  a  sentiment  of  honour  and  generosity 
among  boys  as  much  as  among  men,  and  on  that  he  should 
rely.  This  experiment  was  continued  for  nearly  two  years, 
with  a  success  which  established,  beyond  a  doubt,  his  con- 
fidence in  the  correctness  of  the  theory  on  which  it  was  at- 
tempted. 

In  a  large  school  there  will  always  be  some  boys  in 
whom  the  feelings  of  honour  are  not  high.  The  number 
is  not  great.  It  is  smaller  than  is  commonly  thought ;  and 
by  appealing  to  the  sentiment  of  honour,  such  as  it  is,  the 
almost  latent  principle  will  be  kindled  in  many  a  breast  in 
which  it  had  been  dormant,  and  the  number  of  the  obtuse 
become  constantly  smaller.  A  small  minority  may  be 
safely  left  to  the  influence  of  the  public  opinion  of  the 
school. 

The  appeal  to  the  generous  qualities  of  children  can  be 
safely  made  only  by  one  who  has  entire  confidence  in  their 
existence  and  strength,  and  who  has  a  sympathy  and  affec- 
tion for  children.  A  teacher,  therefore,  should  be  a  lover 
of  children.  This  is  one  of  the  most  essential  qualifica- 
tions. He  who  has  it  will  spontaneously  feel  such  an  in- 
terest in  children  as  will  enable  him  to  be'ar  with  their 
faults,  to  encourage  their  efforts,  to  feel  for  their  griefs,  and 
do  what  he  can  to  make  plain  their  difficulties ;  to  cheer  the 
despondent,  and  lift  up  the  heart  of  the  timid  ;  to  check, 
without  offending,  the  bold ;  to  overcome  the  obstinate  by 
A  A  2 


282  QUALITIES. 

gentleness  ;  and  to  repress,  without  mortifying,  the  self-con- 
fident. This  will  make  patience  easy  to  him,  and  strip 
confinement  of  half  its  irksomeness. 

There  is  a  great  difference  in  this  respect  among  ;ndi- 
viduals  otherwise  equally  amiable.  One  who  is  vexed  by 
the  noise  of  children,  impatient  of  their  slowness,  and  of- 
fended by  their  sportiveness,  should  never  go  inside  of  a 
schoolhouse.  One  who  is  indifferent  to  them,  or  feels  little 
interest  in  them,  may  persuade  himself,  by  a  strong  convic- 
tion of  duty,  to  be  faithful  as  a  teacher,  but  he  will  do  as  a 
task  what  might  otherwise  be  a  pleasure.  The  lover  of 
children  will  take  delight  in  the  employment. 

The  teacher  should  be  kind  and  benevolent.  The  great 
lesson  of  the  Gospel  is  love.  How  many  there  are  who 
have  not  yet  learned  it.  The  power  of  kindness  is  but  be- 
ginning to  be  fully  known.  No  human  heart  is  shut  against 
it.  The  great  improvements  made  in  the  treatment  of  pris- 
oners, in  recent  times,  come  from  the  introduction  of  this 
principle,  and  are  evidences  of  its  power.  The  heart  long 
hardened  by  severity  and  suffering,  softens  and  yields  when 
it  feels  itself  addressed  in  the  unaffected  tones  of  real  kind- 
ness. Can  it  be  that  the  indurated  tenant  of  a  prison  is 
more  alive  to  the  influence  of  this  benignant  principle  than 
the  innocent,  unhardened  child  1  When  we  see  contrition 
and  repentance  for  crime  wrought  in  the  heart  of  the  old 
offender,  through  the  instrumentality  of  love,  shall  we  dis- 
trust its  efficacy  on  the  heart  of  the  young,  and  delicate, 
and  susceptible  1 

A  still  more  remarkable  evidence  of  the  force  of  kindness 
is  shown  in  the  treatment  of  the  insane.  The  truly  kind 
man,  whose  kindness  so  pervades  his  character  that  it 
beams  from  the  eye,  irradiates  the  face,  speaks  in  the 
voice,  and  controls  the  movements,  has  almost  unbounded 
power  over  the  will  of  the  insane.  Can  it  be  that  he  should 
have  less  over  the  fresh  and  warm  affections  of  children  ? 


KINDNESS — FORGIVENESS — JUSTICE.  283 

The  broken  current  of  thought,  disturbed,  perhaps,  by  the 
coldness  of  the  world,  or  by  bitter  grief,  or  by  passion,  is 
brought  back  to  its  natural  channel,  and  made  to  flow  pla- 
cidly, under  the  benign  influence  of  truth  and  confidence,  by 
the  offices  of  religion  and  the  irresistible  power  of  .kindness. 
Shall  the  effect  of  these  motives  be  less  in  leading  the 
streams  of  feeling  and  thought,  near  their  fountain,  to  flow 
in  their  appointed  courses  1 

A  duty  of  the  teacher  is  to  inspire  kindness — to  form  the 
habit  of  benevolence.  Can  he  impart  what  he  has  not? 
Kindness  must  be  his  great  instrument.  By  no  other  can 
he  add  so  much  to  the  happiness  of  his  pupils,  or  so  easily 
control  them.  Shall  he  not  profit  by  the  lesson  which  the 
Christian  warden  of  the  prison,  and  the  Christian  physician 
of  the  insane,  afford  ? 

A  part  of  kindness  is  the  forgiveness  of  injuries.     A 
teacher  should  be  of  a  forgiving  spirit.     Forgiveness  wins 
more  than  punishment  drives.     The  one  appeals  to  the  lofty 
qualities,  the  other  to  the  grovelling.     One  forms  the  heart 
to  nobleness,  the  other  tends  to  harden  it. 
.   He.  should  be  just.     A  child  is  delicately  sensitive  to  in- 
justice.    An  instance  of  it  offends  him,  and  does  much  to 
shut  his  heart  against  the  author  of  the  injustice.     He  can 
hardly  think  him  a  good  man,  whatever  else  he  may  have  to 
recommend  him.      The  teacher  should  therefore  have  a 
strong  sentiment  and  a  quick  perception  of  justice  ;  and  he 
should  endeavour  to  be  habitually  and  strictly  just.    This  is, 
doubtless,  the  most  difficult  part  of  his  duty.     It  is  not  easy 
to  pronounce  justly  even  in  a  difference  between  two ;  but 
when  the  rights  of  many  become  involved,  the  difficulty  be- 
comes proportionally  greater.     He  should  be  severely  true 
to  his  feeling  of  justice,  while  he  should,  at  the  same  time, 
show  his  pupils  how  nearly  impossible  it  is  for  him,  without 
the  power  of  looking  into  their  motives,  to  do  exact  justice. 
There  are  some  occasions  on  which  it  is  quite  impossible 


284  QUALITIES. 

for  him  to  do  justice.  When,  for  example,  a  single  prize  is 
offered,  and  there  are,  as  there  usually  are,  several  candi- 
dates with  apparently  equal  claims, — let  him  then  beware  of 
unperceived  partialities.  It  is  better  to  avoid  such  cases. 
Let  him  refuse  to  undertake  to  award  a  prize  which  it  re- 
quires more  than  human  penetration  not  to  award  unjustly. 

The  sentiment  of  justice  is  so  important  in  the  human 
character,  its  office  is  so  high,  and  there  are  so  frequent  oc- 
casions for  its  exercise  in  human  life,  that  a  teacher's  duty 
cannot  be  considered  well  performed  unless  he  takes  pains 
to  form  and  cultivate  it.  Let  the  faithful  teacher  look  to 
that.  If  all  teachers  could  be  roused  to  a  sense  of  its  im- 
portance, there  would  be  less  of  injustice  in  the  world. 

In  order  to  be  just,  the  teacher  should  have  equanimity : 
equally  removed  from  indifference  and  passion.  Here 
again  comes  in  the  importance  of  health  ;  for  ill  health  will 
disturb,  almost  inevitably,  the  even  current  of  feeling  on 
which  equanimity  depends. 

He  should  be  a  lover  of  order  ;  and,  if  possible,  he  should 
have  the  talent  of  establishing  and  preserving  it.  System 
is  essential  in  a  school.  It  helps  all  things.  It  renders 
government  easy.  It  preserves  quiet,  and  good  feeling ;  it 
saves  time.  It  prevents  impatience  ;  one  waits  patiently 
for  the  hour,  when  the  hour  is  sure  to  come.  It  obviates 
confusion  ;  it  prevents  injustice.  Unless  a  system  of  just 
allotment  of  time,  according  to  the  claims  of  each  and  of  all, 
be  fixed  and  firmly  adhered  to,  there  must  be  some  to  suffer 
neglect.  Once  established,  such  a  system  has  a  tendency 
to  preserve  itself.  It  requires  a  talent  of  order,  or  some 
substitute  for  it,  to  establish  such  a  system.  Individuals 
differ  very  much  in  this  talent.  He  who  has  little  power  to 
establish  and  preserve  order,  ought  to  cease  to  attempt  to 
teach,  unless  he  have  extraordinary  qualifications  to  com- 
pensate for  its  absence.  If  he  have  the  talsnt  in  a  moderate 
degree,  he  may  adopt  an  order  of  proceeding  settled  by 


REVERENCE — CONSCIENTIOUSNESS.  285 

another,  and  by  the  help  of  a  clock  or  watch,  carefully  ob- 
served, may  keep  it  in  operation. 

His  highest  duty  is  to  teach  a  reverence  for  God  and  for 
his  laws.  He  should,  therefore,  himself  be  full  of  rever- 
ence. This  cannot  be  taught  by  mere  words,  in  abstract 
propositions  ;  it  must  be  communicated.  Words  must  be 
used,  but  they  must  come  from  the  heart,  and  they  can 
come  with  effect  only  from  a  heart  deeply  imbued  with  the 
feeling.  If  he  have  not  this  feeling,  the  teacher  ought  not 
to  attempt  to  excite  it  in  his  pupils  ;  for  it  will  sound  like 
hypocrisy  in  himself,  and  there  will  be  danger  of  his  pro- 
ducing hypocrisy  in  them.  Reverence  is  the  foundation  of 
the  religious  sentiment,  and  it  will  be  better  to  leave  it  to 
th'e  teacher  of  religion  than  to  run  the  risk  of  making  hypo- 
crites of  his  pupils,  or  of  debasing  himself  by  the  wretched 
cant  of  hypocrisy ;  for,  while  the  genuine  feeling  is  the 
highest  and  holiest  of  the  human  breast,  the  affectation  of  it 
is  the  basest. 

He  should  be  conscientious.  A  most  important  part  of 
the  duty  of  a  moral  teacher  is  to  awaken  the  sense  of  duty. 
But  it  must  exist  in  his  own  breast  before  he  can  arouse  it 
in  that  of  another.  He  must  be  conscientious  for  his  own 
sake,  for  his  own  peace.  Most  of  his  exertions  have  not 
the  visible  external  rewdfds  which  follow  earnest  and  stren- 
uous exertions  in  almost  every  other  field  of  labour.  Their 
immediate  effects  are  secret,  almost  imperceptible  changes 
in  the  feelings  or  habits  of  a  child ;  and,  however  full  of 
hope  he  may  be,  he  will  be  liable  to  be  discouraged  if  he 
have  not  the  conscientious  feeling  whereby  faithful  exertion 
carries  with  it  its  own  reward.  The  teacher  is  sometimes 
of  no  esteem  with  the  world.  He  must  be  able  to  do  good 
for  its  own  sake,  hoping  for  nothing  in  return ;  and  his 
"  great  reward"  must  be  in  the  consciousness  of  having 
done  what  he  could. 

He  should  be  conscientious  for  the  sake  of  his  pupils. 


286  QUALITIES. 

A  quick,  clear  sense  of  right  and  wrong,  a  resolute  purpose 
to  do  right  because  it  is  right,  and  to  avoid  wrong  because 
it  is  wrong,  is  the  highest  principle  that  can  pervade  the 
character  of  child  or  man.  It  is  the  deep  foundation  on 
which  everything  most  excellent  in  the  character  must  rest. 
The  love  of  truth,  that  most  beautiful  trait  in  the  human 
character,  is  but  another  name  for  it.  We  believe  that  it 
exists,  faintly  or  manifestly,  in  the  elements  of  every  human 
character  capable  of  free  agency.  But  it  must  be  educated. 
Like  every  other  principle,  it  must  be  strengthened  by  ex- 
ercise. It  must  be  appealed  to  constantly,  in  every  period 
of  instruction,  by  those  who  have  charge  of  it.  The  great 
neglect  of  moral  education  lies  in  this  point  more  than  in 
any  other.* 

Conscientiousness,  then,  is  a  great  essential  in  a  teacher. 
But  it  exists  in  different  degrees.  The  sentiment  of  duty 
may  be  high,  and  yet  the  power  of  acting  up  to  it  may  be 
deficient.  A  person  so  constituted  may  become  a  good 
teacher,  for  he  will  be  likely  to  do  his  best  to  improve  ;  and 
this  master  principle  of  our  moral  nature,  if  always  respect- 
ed, will  at  last  obtain  complete  ascendency. 

The  teacher  must  be  firm.  This  quality  must  come  in 
to  strengthen  all  the  rest.  Firmness  saves  time  and  pre- 
vents pain.  Let  it  be  once  undeistood  in  a  school :  "  This 
is  fixed,  after  full  deliberation,  on  just  grounds  ;  it  cannot  be 
yielded ;"  and  every  one  submits  as  he  does  to  necessity. 
The  will  of  a  man  as  unyielding  as  fate  is  submitted  to  as 
if  it  were  another  fate.  But  firmness  never  need  be  harsh. 
Gentleness  and  firmness  should  be  united.  The  child 
should  feel  that  the  resistless  hand  of  a  strong  man  is  upon 

*  It  can  hardly  be  essential  to  say,  except  to  avoid  being  misun- 
derstood, that  I  believe  the  religious  sentiment  closely  connected 
with  conscientiousness.  That  sentiment  naturally  expresses  itself 
in  worship.  The  conscience  must  be  aided  by  Him  who  worketh  in 
us  to  will  and  to  do ;  and  aid  must  be  asked. 


MORAL  QUALITIES  IMPORTANT  IN  A  TEACHER.  287 

him,  but  that  it  is  the  hand  of  a  father.  This  union  the 
teacher  should  constantly  endeavour  to  effect.  Firmness  is 
often  natural.  Where  it  is  not  so  to  any, considerable  de- 
gree, much  may  be  done  to  gain  or  strengthen  it.  If  we 
feel  that  it  is  kindness  to  be  firm,  that  it  is  our  interest  and 
our  duty  to  be  firm,  we  may  be  so,  though  naturally  waver- 
ing and  irresolute. 

He  should  have  the  talent  for  commanding,  and  he  should 
be  able  to  establish  his  authority.  All  the  other  influences 
he  can  exert  are  important, — some  of  them  of  the  highest 
importance  ;  but,  after  all,  a  school  must  be  reduced  to  sub- 
mission, and  kept  in  subordination  by  authority. 

Together  with  these  natural  qualifications,  the  teachei 
should  have  a  strong  predilection  for  the  office.  He  should 
engage  in  it,  not  from  compulsion  and  as  a  last  resort,  but 
as  the  most  desirable  and  honourable  of  employments. 

I  have  enumerated  some  of  the  moral  qualities  which 
seem  to  be  most  important  to  a  teacher  for  his  own  sake 
and  on  account  of  his  pupils.  He  should  be  patient,  full  of 
hope,  of  a  cheerful  spirit,  generous,  a  lover  of  children,  full 
of  benevolence,  just,  a  lover  of  order,  a  reverencer  of  God 
and  his  laws,  conscientious,  firm,  with  a  talent  to  command. 
To  one  who  is  to  be  a  teacher  for  life,  all  are  essential. 
Yet  all  cannot  often  be  united  in  an  individual  in  the  highest 
degree,  and  some  may  take  the  place  of  others.  A  lover  of 
children  will  be  patient,  and  kind,  and  full  of  hope  towards 
them,  though  wanting  in  these  qualities  towards  others  ;  and 
a  reverence  for  God's  laws  and  the  laws  of  conscience  may 
make  him  firm,  and  just,  and  a  lover  of  order. 


288  QUALITIES. 


CHAPTER  II. 

HEALTH EXERCISE DIET. 

"  '  Go  to  the  hills,'  said  one  ;  '  remit  awhile 
This  baneful  diligence  ;  at  early  morn 
Court  the  fresh  air,  explore  the  heaths  and  woods ; 

construct 

A  calendar  of  flowers,  pluck'd  as  they  blow 
Where  health  abides,  and  cheerfulness,  and  peace.'  " 

WORDSWORTH. 

"  A  variety  of  exercises  is  necessary  to  preserve  the  animal  frame 
in  vigour  and  beauty ;  and  a  variety  of  those  occupations  which  lit- 
erature and  science  afford,  added  to  a  promiscuous  intercourse  with 
the  world,  in  the  habits  of  conversation  and  business,  is  no  less  ne- 
cessary for  the  improvement  of  the  understanding." — STEWART. 

THE  teacher  should  have  perfect  health.  It  may  seem 
almost  superfluous  to  dwell  here  upon  what  is  admitted  to 
be  so  essential  to  all  persons ;  but  it  becomes  necessary, 
from  the  fact  that  nearly  all  those  who  engage  in  teaching 
leave  other  and  more  active  employments  to  enter  upon  their 
new  calling.  By  this  change,  and  by  the  substitution  of  a 
sedentary  life  within  doors  for  a  life  of  activity  abroad,  the 
whole  habit  of  the  body  is  changed,  and  the  health  will  in- 
evitably suffer,  unless  precautions  be  taken  which  have  nev- 
er before  been  necessary.  To  all  such  persons — to  all,  es- 
pecially, who  are  entering  upon  the  work  of  teaching  with 
a  view  of  making  it  their  occupation  for  life,  and  to  that  oth- 
er large  and  important  class  who  are  quitting  the  active  life 
of  a  farmer  or  mechanic  with  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
an  education  for  themselves, — a  knowledge  of  the  laws  of 
health  is  of  the  utmost  importance,  and  to  such  this  chapter 
is  addressed.  I  shall  speak  of  these  laws  briefly,  under  the 
heads  of  exercise,  air,  sleep,  food,  and  dress. 


EXERCISE.  269 

So  intimate  is  the  connexion  between  the  various  parts  of 
our  compound  nature,  that  the  faculties  of  the  mind  cannot 
be  naturally,  fully,  and  effectually  exercised  without  the 
health  of  the  body.  And  the  first  law  of  health  is  that 
which  imposes  the  necessity  of  exercise. 

The  teacher  cannot  be  well  without  exercise,  and,  usual- 
ly, a  great  deal  of  it.  No  other  pursuit  requires  so  much, — 
no  other  is  so  exhausting  to  the  nerves ;  and  exercise,  air, 
cheerfulness,  and  sunshine,  are  necessary  to  keep  them  in 
health.  Most  other  pursuits  give  exercise  of  body,  sunshine, 
and  air,  in  the  very  performance  of  the  duties  that  belong  to 
them.  This  shuts  us  up  from  all. 

One  of  the  best,  as  one  of  the  most  natural  modes  of  ex- 
ercise, is  walking.  To  give  all  the  good  effects  of  which  it 
is  susceptible,  a  walk  must  be  taken  either  in  pleasant  com- 
pany, or,  if  alone,  with  pleasant  thoughts ;  or,  still  better, 
with  some  agreeable  end  in  view,  such  as  gathering  plants, 
or  minerals,  or  observing  other  natural  objects.  Many  a 
broken  constitution  has  been  built  up,  and  many  a  valuable 
life  saved  or  prolonged,  by  such  a  love  of  some  branch  of 
natural  history  as  has  led  to  snatch  every  opportunity  for  a 
walk,  with  the  interest  of  a  delightful  study, 

"  Where  living  things,  and  tilings  inanimate, 
Do  speak,  at  Heaven's  command,  to  eye  and  ear." 

The  distinguished  geologist  of  Massachusetts,  Professor 
Hitchcock,  was  once,  when  teacher  of  a  school,  reduced  to 
so  low  a  state  by  a  disease  of  the  nerves,  which  took  the 
ugly  shape  of  dyspepsy,  that  he  seemed  to  be  hurrying  rap- 
idly towards  the  grave.  Fortunately,  he  became  interested 
in  mineralogy,  and  this  gave  him  a  strong  motive  to  spend 
all  his  leisure  time  in  the  open  air,  and  to  take  long  circuits 
in  every  direction.  He  forgot  that  he  was  pursuing  health 
in  the  deeper  interest  of  science  ;  and  thus,  aided  by  some 
other  changes  in  his  habits,  but  not  in  his  pursuits,  he  grad- 

B  B 


290  QUALITIES. 

ually  recovered  the  perfect  health  which  has  enabled  him  to 
do  so  much  for  science  and  for  the  honour  of  his  native  state. 

2.  Riding  on  horseback  is  one  of  the  best  modes  of  ex- 
ercise  possible  for  a  sedentary  person.     It  leads  to  an 
erect  posture,  throws  open  the  chest,  gives  a  fuller  breath- 
ing, and  exercises  the   muscles  of  the  arms  and  upper 
part  of  the  frame.     Though  in  many  situations  expensive 
in  a  pecuniary  point  of  view,  it  is  economical  in  time.     I 
have  often  found  it  refreshing  and  invigorating  when  other 
kinds  of  exercise  were  ineffectual.     In  weakness  of  the 
digestive  organs  its  efficacy  is  remarkable.     It  is  essential 
to  the  beneficial  effects  of  this  exercise,  that,  if  it  be  pur- 
sued in  cold  weather,  the  feet  be  kept  perfectly  warm. 

3.  A  garden  furnishes  many  excellent  forms  of  exercise, 
and  the  numerous  labours  of  a  farm  would  give  every  vari- 
ety, if  the  teacher  could  be  in  a  situation  to  avail  himself  of 
them.     This  is  not  often  the  case.     When  accessible,  the 
rake  or  the  pitchfork,  moderately  used,  cannot  be  too  highly 
recommended.    A  garden  is  within  the  reach  of  most  teach- 
ers in  the  country.     It  has  the  advantage  of  supplying  ex- 
ercise suited  to  every  degree  of  strength,  and  of  being  fill- 
ed with  objects  gratifying  to  the  eye  and  the  taste.     The 
head  of  one  of  the  first  literary  institutions  in  New-England 
secures  to  himself  robust  and  manly  health  by  two  or  three 
hours'  labour  every  morning  in  his  own  garden  ;  and  he  has 
the  satisfaction,  not  a  slight  one,  of  eating  vegetables  raised 
by  his  own  hands.     The  flower-garden  and  shrubbery  com- 
mend themselves  to  the  female  teacher.     To  derive  every 
advantage  from  them,  she  must  be  willing  to  imitate  an  ex- 
ample often  set  by  the  ladies  of  England,  and  use  the  hoe, 
the  rake,  the  pruning-hook,  and  the  grafting-knife  with  her 
own  hands. 

4.  Rowing,  when  practicable,  is  a  most  healthful  exer- 
cise.    It  gives  play  to  every  muscle  and  bone  of  the  frame. 
For  the  manner  in  which  it  throws  open  and  exercises  the 


EXERCISE.  291 

chest,  it  has  been  recommended,  with  the  best  effect,  in 
pulmonary  cases.  The  story  is  told  of  two  young  men  of 
Cambridge,  England,  being  brought  back  to  health,  from  a 
somewhat  advanced  stage  of  consumption,  by  the  daily  grad- 
ual use  of  the  oar. 

5.  When  the  river  is  frozen,  skating  may  take  the  place 
of  rowing:  and  it  is  an  excellent  substitute.     The  teacher 
need  never  be  ashamed  of  it.    He  should  rather  be  ashamed 
of  the  ill  health  and  low  spirits  it  is  so  well  adapted  to 
dispel. 

6.  Driving  a  chaise  or  sleigh  is  a  healthful  exercise,  if 
sufficient  precaution  be  used  to  guard  against  the  current 
which  is  always  felt,  as  it  is  produced  by  the  motion  of  the 
vehicle,  even  in  the  still  air. 

7.  Sawing  and  splitting  wood  form  a  valuable  exercise, 
particularly  important  for  those  who  have  left  an  active 
course  of  life  for  the  occupation  of  teaching. 

Exercise  should  be  taken  in  the  early  part  of  the  day. 
Warren  Colburn,  the  author  of  the  arithmetic,  whose  saga- 
city in  regard  to  common  things  was  as  remarkable  as  his 
genius  for  numbers,  used  to  say,  that  half  an  hour's  walk 
before  breakfast  did  him  as  much  good  as  an  hour's  after. 
Be  an  early  riser.  The  air  of  morning  is  more  bracing 
and  invigorating  ;  the  sights,  and  sounds,  and  odours  of 
morning  are  more  refreshing.  A  life's  experience,  spent  in 
teaching,  declares  the  morning  best.  There  are  doubtless 
those  who  cannot  take  exercise  early  in  the  morning — who 
are  seriously  injured  by  it.  They  are  not  many.  But 
when  any  one  finds  that  he  is  of  the  number,  he  must  yield, 
and  consent  to  take  it  at  some  other  hour. 

Exercise  must  always  be  taken,  if  possible,  in  the  open 
air.  Air  is  as  essential  as  exercise,  and  often,  in  warm 
weather  particularly,  more  so.  They  belong  together. 
The  blood  flows  not  as  it  should  ;  it  fails  to  give  fresh 
life  to  the  brain,  if  we  breathe  not  fresh  air  enough.  The 


292  QUALITIES. 

spirits  cannot  enjoy  the  serene  cheerfulness  which  the 
teacher  needs,  if  lie  breathe  not  fresh  air  enough.  The 
brain  cannot  perform  its  functions  ;  thought  cannot  be  quick, 
vigorous,  and  healthy,  without  ample  supplies  of  air.  Much 
of  the  right  moral  tone,  of  habitual  kindliness  and  thankful 
reverence,  depends  on  the  air  of  heaven. 

Exercise  must  be  taken  in  the  light,  and,  if  it  may  be,  in 
the  sunshine.  Who  has  not  felt  the  benignant  influence  of 
sunshine  !  The  sun's  light  seems  almost  as  essential  to  our 
well-being  as  his  heat,  or  the  air  we  breathe.  It  has  a 
great  effect  on  the  nerves.  A  distinguished  physician,  of 
great  experience,  Dr.  J.  C.  Warren,  of  Boston,  tells  me  that 
he  almost  uniformly  finds  diseases  that  affect  the  nerves 
exasperated  by  the  darkness  of  night,  and  mitigated  by  the 
coming  on  of  day.  All  plants  growing  in  the  air  lose  their 
strength  and  colour  when  excluded  from  light.  So,  in  a 
great  degree,  does  man.  They  lose  their  fine  and  delicate 
qualities,  and  the  preciousness  of  their  juices.  Man  loses 
the  glow  of  his  spirits,  and  the  warmth  and  natural  play  of 
his  finer  feelings.  The  sunshine  of  the  breast  is  something 
more  than  a  metaphor. 

"  A  little  rule,  a  little  sway, 
A  sunbeam  in  a  winter's  day, 
Is  all  the  proud  and  mighty  have 
Between  the  cradle  and  the  grave." 

Let  the  teacher,  who  often  has  too  much  of  the  first, 
take  care  to  get  his  portion  of  the  last. 

Next  to  air  and  light,  water  is  the  most  abundant  element 
in  nature.  It  can  hardly  be  requisite  to  enjoin  upon  the 
teacher  the  freest  use  of  it.  The  most  scrupulous  cleanli- 
ness is  necessary,  not  only  on  his  own  account,  but  that  he 
may  be  able  always  to  insist  upon  it,  with  authority,  in  his 
pupils.  The  healthy  state  of  the  nerves,  and  of  the  func- 
tion of  digestion,  depends  in  so  great  a  degree  on  the  clean- 
liness of  the  skin,  that  its  importance  can  hardly  be  over- 


SLEEP.  293 

stated.  Most  diseases  of  the  skin  may  be  healed  or  avoided 
by  the  faithful  application  of  soap  and  water,  or  of  water 
alone,  if  enough  be  used,  and  often  enough.  Thence,  prob- 
ably, the  wisdom  of  Oriental  philosophers  gave  to  the  duty 
of  frequent  ablution  the  force  of  religious  sanction. 

Sleep.  No  more  fatal  mistake  in  regard  to  his  constitu- 
tion can  be  made  by  a  young  person  given  to  study,  than 
that  of  supposing  that  Nature  can  be  cheated  of  the  sleep 
necessary  to  restore  its  exhausted,  or  strengthen  its  weaken- 
ed powers.  From  six  to  eight  hours  of  sleep  are  indispen- 
sable ;  and,  with  young  persons,  oftener  eight  or  more,  than 
six.  It  is  essential  to  the  health  of  the  body,  and  still 
more  to  that  of  the  mind.  It  acts  directly  on  the  nervous 
system ;  and  irritability,  or  what  is  called  nervousness,  is 
the  consequence  of  its  loss.  This,  bad  in  any  person,  is 
worse  in  the  teacher  than  in  any  one  else.  It  is  an  unfail- 
ing source  of  unhappiness  to  himself  and  to  all  his  school. 
He  would  be  unwise  to  subject  himself  to  the  consequences 
of  loss  of  sleep  ;  he  has  no  right  to  subject  others.  The 
long-continued  loss  of  sleep  in  early  life  inflicts  a  wound 
upon  the  constitution  from  which  it  never  fully  recovers. 
I  knew  two  young  men,  who,  in  the  early  part  of  their 
college  life,  when  they  were  about  the  age  of  seventeen, 
living  together,  agreed  to  restrict  themselves  to  four  hours' 
sleep  each  night.  They  were  ardent  in  the  pursuit  of  knowl- 
edge, and  ambitious  of  being  scholars,  and  had  been  persua- 
ded, by  reading  Lord  Teignmouth's  Life  of  Sir  Wm.  Jones, 
that  to  sleep  more  than  four  hours  was  to  be  less  than 
men.  They  resolutely  tried  the  experiment  for  a  term  of 
thirteen  weeks.  Both  had  previously  enjoyed  excellent 
health,  and  been  blessed  with  a  strong  constitution.  Im- 
mediately after,  one  was  obliged  to  leave  college  for  nearly 
six  months,  to  recover  from  an  attack  on  his  lungs,  and,  after 
he  again  resumed  his  studies,  was  afflicted  for  many  years 
with  weakness  of  the  eyes.  He  often  says  that  he  feels,  to 
B  B  2 


294  QUALITIES. 

this  day,  the  effect  of  this  violation  of  the  laws  of  his  con- 
stitution. The  other  was,  for  many  years  after,  subject  to 
a  painful  nervous  complaint,  and  he  has  never  enjoyed  per- 
fect health  since.  The  offence  was  committed  nearly  thir- 
ty years  ago. 

Each  person  must  determine  for  himself  what  number  of 
hours  of  sleep  is  necessary  to  him.  This  varies  not  only 
with  different  individuals,  but  at  different  seasons  of  the 
year,  and  with  different  states  of  health.  The  rule  given 
for  the  management  of  children,  that  they  should  go  to  bed 
early  enough  to  wake  of  themselves  at  a  suitable  hour  in 
the  morning,  may  be  taken  as  a  useful  one  at  any  period 
of  life.  It  is  well  to  be  an  early  sleeper  as  well  as  an  ear- 
ly riser. 

Diet.  To  no  person  is  an  attention  to  diet  more  impor- 
tant than  to  a  teacher.  For  his  own  guidance,  and  that  he 
may  be  able  to  give  proper  instruction  in  regard  to  this  sub- 
ject to  his  pupils,  the  conclusions  of  experience,  or  what 
we  may  consider  the  laws  of  diet,  should  be  familiar  to  him. 
Some  of  these  are  the  following  : 

1 .  Food  should  be  simple  ;  not  of  too  little  nor  of  too 
great  variety.  The  structure  of  the  teeth,  resembling  at 
once  those  of  animals  that  naturally  subsist  on  flesh,  and 
cf  animals  that  take  only  vegetable  food,  and  the  character 
and  length  of  the  digestive  organs,  holding  a  medium  between 
the  average  of  these  two  classes,  indicate  that  a  variety  of 
food,  animal  and  vegetable,  is  natural  to  man,  and  in  most 
cases,  probably,  necessary.  The  tendency  in  most  parts 
of  this  country,  from  the  great  abundance  of  the  necessaries 
of  life,  is  to  go  to  excess  in  the  consumption  of  food,  par- 
ticularly of  animal  food.  The  striking  evils  of  this  course 
have  led  many  to  the  opposite  extreme — to  renounce  meats 
entirely.  Experience  of  the  evils  of  this  course,  also,  has 
in  most  places  brought  men  back  to  the  wise  and  safe  me- 
dium. No  person  needs  to  be  more  careful  in  regard  to 


DIET.  295 

the  quality  and  nature  of  his  food  than  the  teacher,  as 
his  exclusion  from  air  for  a  great  part  of  the  day  leaves  him 
in  an  unfit  condition  to  digest  unwholesome  food ;  while  the 
constant  use  of  his  lungs  renders  his  appetite  unnaturally 
great,  or  destroys  it  altogether.  Animal  food  seems  to  be  ne- 
cessary, but  not  in  great  quantities,  nor  oftener,  usually,  than 
once  a  day.  The  natives  of  the  highest  northern  latitudes 
subsist  almost  entirely  on  gross  animal  food,  which  they  take 
in  great  quantities  without  injury.  Those  within  the  tropica 
may  live  exclusively  on  rice  or  other  vegetable  food.  The 
truth  seems  to  be,  that  a  large  amount  of  food,  of  the  mosl 
nutritious  kind,  is  required,  in  very  cold  regions,  to  keep 
up  the  supply  of  vital  heat.  In  proportion  as  the  climate 
is  warmer,  the  demand  for  food%  on  this  account,  is  less. 
This  fact  would  suggest  a  difference  of  food  at  different 
seasons  of  the  year.  In  winter  it  should  be  nourishing, 
and  may  be  abundant ;  in  summer,  less  nutritious,  less  oi 
animal  origin,  and  in  more  moderate  quantity. 

2.  Food  should  be  taken  at  sufficiently  distant  intervals. 
The  excellent  habits  which  prevail  in  most  parts  of  the  in- 
terior of  the  country,  of  breakfasting  early,  dining  not  far 
from  noon,  and  supping  in  the  beginning  of  the  evening, 
make  particular  rules  in  relation  to  this  point  unnecessary. 
The  operation  of  digestion  is  not  completed,  ordinarily,  in 
less  than  four  hours.     Food  should  not  be  taken  at  shorter 
intervals  than  this,  and  intervals  of  five  or  six  hours  are  bet- 
ter, as  they  leave  the  stomach  some  time  to  rest. 

3.  It  should  be  taken  in  moderate  quantity.     In  the  ac- 
tivity of  common  life,  excess  is  less  to  be  dreaded  than  with 
the  sedentary  habits  and  wearying  pursuits  of  a  teacher. 
.The  body  which  has  been  tasked  by  many  hours  of  severe 
labor  at  the  anvil  or  the  plough,  needs  to  have  its  energies 
repaired  by  large  supplies  of  nourishing  food.     The  exhaus- 
tion of  teaching  is  that  of  the  nervous  power,  and  would 
seem  to  call  rather  for  hours  of  quiet,  and  freedom  from 


296  QUALITIES. 

care,  with  cheerful  conversation,  and  the  refreshment  of 
air  and  gentle  exercise.  Probably  all  the  kinds  of  food  in 
general  use  are  wholesome  when  partaken  of  moderately. 
Those  who,  from  choice  or  compulsion,  pass  from  an  active 
to  a  sedentary  life,  should,  at  the  same  time,  restrict  them- 
selves to  one  half  their  accustomed  quantity  of  food. 

4.  As  a  general  rule,  fat  should  be  avoided.     It  is  a  gross 
custom  of  some  parts  of  the  country,  the  having  food  pre- 
pared by  cooking  with  great  quantities  of  fat.     None  but  a 
person  who  uses  a  great  deal  of  most  active  exercise,  or  is 
much  exposed  to  cold,  can  long  bear  it  with  impunity.     If 
taken,  fat  in  a  solid  form  is  less  injurious  than  liquid  fat. 

5.  Fruit  may  be  eaten  with  the  recollection  of  the  prov- 
erb of  fruit-producing  countries  :  "  It  is  gold  in  the  morning, 
silver  at  noon,  lead  at  night."     Ripe  fruit,  in  its  season,  is 
wholesome,  and  preferable,  for  a  person  of  sedentary  habits, 
to  more  nourishing  and  exciting  food.     But  it  should  be  a 
substitute  for  other  food,  not  an  addition.     A  bad  practice, 
common  in  some  places,  of  eating  fruit,  especially  the  in- 
digestible dried  fruits,  raisins,  and  nuts,  in  the   evening, 
should  be  avoided  by  the  teacher.     He  must  have  quiet  and 
uninterrupted  sleep,  and  early  hours,  to  be  patient,  gentle, 
and  cheerful  in  school. 

6.  The  drink  of  a  sedentary  person  should  be  chiefly  wa- 
ter, and  that  in  small  quantities,  and  only  at  meals.     The  in- 
telligent Arab  of  the  desert  drinks  not  during  the  heat  of  the 
day.     He  sees  that  watering  a  plant  in  the  sunshine  makes 
it  wither  ;  and  he  feels,  in  himself,  an  analogous  effect  from 
the  use  of  water.     There  are  few  lessons  in  regard  to  diet 
so  important  to  be  inculcated  as  this  :  "  Drink  not  between 
meals."     The  introduction  of  tea  and  coffee  has  justly  been 
considered  as  one  of  the  great  advances  in  the  art  of  living 
of  modem  times,  and  one  cause,  among  others,  of  the  in- 
crease in  the  duration  of  life.     They  cheer  but  not  inebri- 
ate, and  may  be  taken  moderately  as  long  as  no  ill  effect 


DRESS CHEERFULNESS.  297 

is  perceived  from  their  use.  They  are  to  be  preferred  to 
all  other  drinks  except  water,  and  especially  to  heavy  and 
nourishing  drinks. 

7.  The  last  rule  to  be  observed  is,  that  no  unnecessary 
exertion  of  mind  or  body  should  be  used  immediately  after 
a  meal.  If  a  walk  must  be  taken,  it  should  rather  be  a 
leisurely  stroll  than  a  hurried  walk. 

The  teacher  should  be  no  sloven.  He  should  dress  well, 
not  over  nicely,  not  extravagantly ;  neatly,  for  neatness  he 
must  teach  by  example  as  well  as  by  precept ;  and  warmly, 
for  so  many  hours  of  the  day  shut  in  a  warm  room  will 
make  him  unusually  sensitive  to  cold.  The  golden  rule  of 
health  should  never  be  forgotten :  "  Keep  the  head  cool,  the 
feet  warm,  the  body  free."  The  dress  of  the  feet  is  particu- 
larly important.  Coldness  or  dampness  of  the  feet  causes 
headache,  weakness  and  inflammation  of  the  eyes,  coughs, 
consumptions,  sometimes  fevers.  A  headache  is  often  cured 
by  sitting  with  the  feet  long  near  a  fire.  Keeping  the  feet 
warm  and  dry  alleviates  the  common  affections  of  the  eyes, 
repels  a  coming  fever,  prevents  or  quiets  coughs,  and  serves 
as  one  of  the  surest  safeguards  against  consumption.  Many 
of  our  most  sensible  physicians  trace  the  prevalence  of  con- 
sumption in  the  Northern  States,  not  to  our  climate,  but  to 
the  almost  universal  custom  of  wearing  insufficient  clothing, 
especially  on  the  feet. 

There  is  another  subject  intimately  connected  with  health, 
which  has  been  alluded  to,  but  which  ought,  from  its  impor- 
tance, to  receive  more  than  a  passing  remark.  It  is  cheerful- 
ness. This  should  be  one  of  the  ends  and  measures  of 
health.  It  ought  to  be  considered  the  natural  condition  of 
a  healthy  mind ;  he  who  is  not  cheerful  is  not  in  health. 
If  he  has  not  some  manifest  moral  cause  of  melancholy, 
there  must  be  something  wrong  in  the  body,  or  in  the  action 
of  the  powers  of  the  mind. 

A  common  cause  of  low  spirits  in  a  teacher  is  anxiety  in 


298  QUALITIES. 

regard  to  the  well-doing  of  his  pupils.  This  he  must  feel, 
but  he  must  endeavour,  as  far  as  possible,  to  banish  it  from 
his  hours  of  relaxation.  He  must  leave  it  behind  him  when 
he  turns  from  the  schoolhouse  door.  To  prevent  its  haunt- 
ing him,  he  must  seek  pleasant  society.  He  must  forget  it 
among  the  endearments  of  home,  the  cheerful  faces  and  kind 
voices  of  his  friends.  This  is  the  best  of  all  resources,  and 
happy  is  the  man  who  has  a  pleasant  home,  in  the  bosom  of 
which  he  may  rest  from  labour  and  from  care.  If  he  be 
among  strangers,  he  must  try  to  find  or  make  friends  to  sup- 
ply the  place  of  home.  He  must  seek  the  company  of  the 
parents  and  friends  of  his  pupils,  not  only  that  he  may  not  be 
oppressed  by  the  loneliness  of  his  situation,  but  that  he  may 
better  understand  the  character  of  his  pupils,  and  the  influ- 
ences to  which  they  are  subjected.  The  exercise  of  the 
social  affections  is  essential  to  the  healthy  condition  of  a 
well-constituted  mind.  Often  he  will  find  good  friends  and 
pleasant  companions  among  his  pupils.  Difference  of  years 
disappears  before  kindliness  of  feeling,  and  sympathy  may 
exist  between  those  most  remote  in  age,  and  pursuit,  and 
cultivation. 

A  less  essential  and  genial,  perhaps,  but  a  surer,  because 
a  more  independent  resource,  he  will  find  in  reading.  He 
must  be  a  reader.  The  constantly  recurring  lessons  will 
exhaust  his  stock  of  ideas  and  illustrations,  and  he  must  re- 
new his  store  by  books.  And  in  reading,  if  he  have  con- 
siderable freedom  of  selection,  he  must  seek  such  books  as 
at  once  instruct  and  give  a  cheerful  flow  to  the  thoughts. 
Poetry,  wit,  narrative,  eloquence,  biography,  fiction,  philoso- 
phy, devotion — let  him  choose  whatever  is  suited  to  the 
mood  of  the  hour.  It  may  seem  inconsistent  to  recommend 
so  sedentary  a  recreation  as  reading  with  the  sedentary  la- 
bours of  a  school.  But  the  powers  of  mind  employed  in 
reading  are  very  different  from  those  that  are  exercised  in 
teaching.  Much  of  the  day  may  be  spent  in  bodily  exer- 


READING MUSIC.  299 

cise,  and  still  leave  many  hours  of  daylight  and  night  unoc- 
cupied ;  and  the  quiet  enjoyment  of  reading  refreshes  the 
mind  more  than  absolute  rest.  The  whole  mind  of  the 
teacher  should  be  exercised,  each  faculty  in  its  appropriate 
way  ;  and  after  all  the  labours  of  a  day,  he  may  find  that  his 
imagination,  his  reasoning  powers,  or  those  of  observation, 
have  been  but  little  employed. 

I  have  already  spoken  of  the  study  of  Natural  History.  A 
delightful,  but  a  somewhat  dangerous  recreation,  is  offered  by 
Music  ;  delightful,  as  always  soothing  to  the  wearied  mind, 
but  dangerous,  because  liable  to  take  to  itself  too  much  time. 
It  would  be  desirable  if  every  instructer  could  himself  sing 
or  play.  If  he  cannot,  let  him  listen  to  songs  or  cheerful 
airs  from  voice  or  instrument,  or  to  the  notes  of  birds. 

"  I'm  sick  of  noise  and  care,  and  now  mine  ear 
Longs  for  some  air  of  peace." 


300  STUDIES. 


BOOK   II. 

STUDIES. 
CHAPTER  I. 

THE    LAWS    OF    THE    CREATION. 

"  The  object  of  the  science  of  education  is  to  render  mind  the  fit- 
test possible  instrument  for  discovering,  applying,  or  obeying  the 
laws  under  which  God  has  placed  the  universe." — WAYLAND. 

THE  social  position  of  instructors  is  not  yet  everywhere 
what  it  should  be.  But  already  many  of  the  best  and  wi- 
sest men  see  that  a  higher  place  should  be  given  them,  and 
the  public  are  beginning  to  be  prepared  to  render  them  due 
honour.  Already  thoughtful  men  see  what  vast  influence 
is  to  be  exercised,  what  vast  good  is  to  be  done,  by  highly 
gifted,  thoroughly  qualified,  well  educated,  and  faithful 
teachers.  It  will  depend  on  themselves  to  deserve  and 
win  the  place  they  desire.  The  world  will  grant  it  when 
it  is  deserved.  Every  teacher  may  do  something  to  remove 
prejudices,  where  they  exist,  against  teachers,  and  to  gain 
for  them,  as  a  body,  a  higher  regard,  and  a  nearer  place  in 
the  affections  of  the  community.  Let  him  form  for  him- 
self such  a  character  as  the  guide  of  the  young  should  have  ; 
let  him  make  such  acquisitions  in  science  and  letters  as 
elevate  the  mind  and  polish  the  manners  ;  let  him  gain  the 
knowledge  which  is  power,  and  he  needs  not  claim,  for  he 
will  receive  unclaimed,  honour  from  the  rising  and  the  risen 
generation. 

Let  him  be  just,  generous,  sincere,  honourable,  kind,  char- 
itable, modest,  respecting  himself  and  respecting  others, 
fearing  God  and  reverencing  his  laws,  a  model  of  the  vir- 


THE  LAWS  OF  THE  CREATION.         301 

tues  that  adorn  a  man,  and  he  needs  not  fear  that  he  shall 
fail  of  even  the  earthly  reward  of  these  virtues.  They  are 
of  too  high  a  character  to  be  estimated  by  external  meas- 
ures, and  their  true  reward  is  within.  Still  they  meet  a 
sympathy  in  the  heart  of  others,  and  procure  genuine  re- 
spect for  their  possessor.  But  these  qualities  of  the  char 
acter,  though  the  best  and  most  indispensable,  are  not  all 
that  are  required.  The  instructer  must  be  intelligent,  culti- 
vated, well-informed. 

The  information  he  should  possess  must  be,  fir^t,  what 
will  qualify  him  for  his  office  of  instructer,  and,  secondly, 
what  he  must  have  as  a  citizen  and  a  man.  If  he  attain 
all  that  belongs  to  the  first,  he  will  not  have  many  deficien- 
cies to  make  up  in  regard  to  the  second. 

The  instructer  should  be  the  interpreter  of  the  laws  of 
the  creation.  The  child  is  born  into  the  world  ignorant  of 
them  all ;  yet  they  are  the  laws  by  which  every  part  of  his 
own  nature,  and  his  use  of  all  the  powers  of  external  nature, 
are  controlled.  He  must  know  them, — the  more  perfectly 
and  the  earlier  the  better.  The  more  fully  qualified  the 
teacher  is  to  impart  a  knowledge  of  these  laws,  the  better 
instructer  he  must  be. 

The  first  of  these  laws  which  attract  the  attention,  inas- 
much as  they  fall  almost  entirely  within  the  dominion  of 
the  senses,  are  the  properties  of  the  objects  about  us.  A 
great  part  of  infancy  is  spent,  very  happily,  in  learning 
these  properties,  by  the  incessant  experiments  which  all 
children  delight  to  make.  They  thus  discover  the  hard- 
ness, strength,  shape,  colour,  size,  weight,  and  other  prop- 
erties of  all  the  common  objects  ;  their  appearances  at  dif- 
ferent distances  ;  their  relation  to  each  other  ;  and,  what  is 
still  more  important  to  them,  their  relation  to  themselves, 
and  some  of  their  uses.  And  in  these  observations  and  ex- 
periments, while  learning  to  use  their  limbs,  they  exercise 
their  senses,  and,  those  powers  of  the  mind  by  which  ihey 
Cc 


302  STUDIES- 

observe  and  compare.  Most,  perhaps  all  of  the  happiness  of 
infancy  and  early  childhood, — and  whoever  looks  upon  chil- 
dren must  see  how  much  they  enjoy,  how  happy  they  are, 
— is  doubtless  derived  from  this  instinctive  exercise  of  the 
infant  faculties.  If  the  art  of  instruction  were  what  it  might 
be,  and  teachers  had  the  qualifications  which  they  ought  to 
have,  this  happy  natural  progress  in  knowledge  and  the  de- 
velopment of  the  faculties  would  know  no  interruption. 

This  period  in  the  education  of  a  child,  which  we  may 
call  the  period  of  nature's  education,  is  managed  so  much 
better,  usually,  than  any  future  part,  that  we  might  be  tempted 
not  to  interfere  with  it,  but  to  observe  and  admire,  and  to 
learn  thence  how  to  conduct  in  the  periods  that  come  after. 
But,  even  here,  art  and  reason  might  step  in,  and  improve 
upon  those  beautiful  processes,  not  by  changing  them,  but 
by  carrying  out  more  fully  the  principles  indicated  by  na- 
ture. This  I  shall  hereafter  endeavour  to  show. 

The  next  laws  which  draw  the  attention  of  the  child  are 
those  of  the  elements,  light,  heat,  air,  water,  and  others. 
Many  of  these  escape  the  immediate  cognizance  of  his 
senses,  and  are  those  in  regard  to  which  he  needs  the  aid 
of  a  well-informed  instructer.  Listen  to  a  child 's  ques- 
tions, and  you  find  him  very  early  inquisitive  as  to  the  causes 
acting  upon  him.  The  same  curiosity  which  had  been  busy 
upon  objects,  extends  itself  to  influences.  Why  is  it  so  hot  ? 
Why  do  the  buds  begin  to  swell  ?  Why  do  the  birds  come 
back,  and  begin  to  sing  ?  What  makes  the  rain  ?  See  the 
smoke,  how  it  goes  up  into  the  sky  ;  what  makes  it  go  up  ? 
These,  and  a  thousand  other  questions,  show  that  he  is 
looking  into  causes.  Now  is  the  office  of  the  teacher  called 
in  requisition  ;  and  to  be  able  to  answer  these  questions,  he 
must  possess  himself  of  what  is  known  of  these  elements. 
This  kind  of  knowledge  is  contained  in  books  upon  Chemis- 
try, Natural  Philosophy,  Natural  History,  and  Meteorology ; 
and  with  such  must  the  individual,  who  aspires  to  be  a  use- 


CHEMISTRY — NATURAL    PHILOSOPHY.  303 

ful  and  successful  teacher  of  children  in  their  early  years, 
be  familiar.  The  most  important  of  these  are  certain  parts 
of  Chemistry  and  Natural  History.  That  part  of  the  former 
which  relates  to  the  nature  and  composition  of  the  atmo- 
sphere is  essential.  How  many  children  have  suffered,  and 
now  suffer,  from  ignorance  on  the  part  of  their  teachers,  of 
the  simple  truth,  that  air  is  gradually  rendered  poisonous  by 
breathing,  and  that  a  supply  of  fresh  air  is  constantly  neces- 
sary in  a  room  which  many  persons  occupy.  We  every 
year  read  accounts  of  lives  having  been  destroyed  by  the 
fumes  of  charcoal,  which  the  knowledge  of  the  fact  that 
anything  burning  in  the  air  rapidly  consumes  its  vital  por- 
tion, or  that  the  gas  formed  by  burning  charcoal  is  destruct- 
ive to  life,  would  have  saved.  Many  pupils  will  never  have 
any  means  of  learning  these  and  similar  facts  but  from  the 
teacher  of  a  public  school.  Such  elementary  truths  should, 
therefore,  be  known  to  every  teacher. 

The  teacher  of  the  higher  schools,  or  of  the  upper  class- 
es, ought  to  have  a  much  fuller  knowledge  of  Chemistry. 
He  will  then  be  able,  in  conversation  with  his  pupils,  to 
communicate  innumerable  facts  of  the  highest  practical  val- 
ue. To  the  future  farmer  he  may  give  hints  as  to  the  part 
that  clay,  limestone,  animal  manure,  peat,  and  even  sand,  act 
in  the  constitution  of  soils,  which  will  lead  him  to  investi- 
gate for  himself,  and  thus  to  be  able  to  render  his  farm  more 
productive.  To  the  future  smith  he  may,  by  observations 
on  the  qualities  qf  the  different  metals,  impart  a  desire  to  in- 
form himself,  which  will  make  him  a  better  smith  than  he 
otherwise  would  have  become.  All  the  properties  of  acids 
and  alkalies,  of  their  action  on  each  other  and  on  metals,  of 
the  salts,  harmless,  useful,  or  poisonous,  that  are  formed  of 
them,  have  endless  uses  in  the  daily  economy  of  common 
life,  within  doors  and  without,  which  every  child,  male  and 
female,  will  be  better  for  knowing,  and  will  delight  to  learn. 
Only  let  the  teacher  be  so  familiar  in  his  knowledge  of 


304  STUDIES. 

these  truths  that  he  can  introduce  them  naturally  and  intel- 
ligibly, and  they  will  always  interest. 

So  of  the  principles  of  Natural  Philosophy.  All  men  who 
are  engaged  in  the  active  pursuits  of  labour  or  business, 
have  occasion  to  use  some  forms  of  the  mechanical  powers. 
Thousands  have  no  other  opportunities  of  getting  acquaint- 
ance with  their  principles  than  those  furnished  by  the  com- 
mon schools.  In  most  of  these  schools  Natural  Philosophy 
forms  no  part  of  the  regular  course  of  instruction.  What 
incalculable  good  may  an  intelligent  teacher  be  the  means 
of  doing,  who  shall  communicate  sufficient  knowledge  of  the 
leading  principles  of  Mechanics  to  make  his  pupil  long  for 
more,  and  induce  him  to  get  it  when  he  can  1 

The  economical  use  of  materials  in  building,  with  the  abil- 
ity to  select  such  forms  as  give  the  greatest  strength  in  the 
least  space  and  with  the  least  weight,  is  an  interesting  appli^ 
cation  of  Mechanics  of  great  practical  value.  Many  persons 
have  occasion  to  build  who  have  no  means  of  studying  books 
on  the  higher  parts  of  carpentry.  To  such  it  will  be  an 
advantage  even  to  know  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  a  sci- 
ence that  treats  of  the  form  and  strength  of  materials  ;  aud 
a  few  suggestions  might  set  an  ingenious  person  upon  a 
course  of  thought  which  would  lead  him  to  many  valuable 
practical  conclusions. 

Every  traveller  ought  to  know  something  of  the  construc- 
tion of  the  steam-engine,  which  is  doing  such  wonders  for 
the  world.  Should  not  a  teacher  endeavour  to  know  enough 
of  the  principles  of  Chemistry  and  of  Pneumatics  to  give 
some  idea  of  its  structure  and  action  ?  Enough,  at  least,  to 
point  out  to  an  inquisitive  pupil  what  studies  he  must  pursue 
to  find  them  out  for  himself? 

There  are  no  subjects  of  greater  interest  to  children,  of 
both  sexes  and  of  all  ages,  than  the  nature,  habits,  and  uses 
of  the  animal  creation.  Humanity,  as  well  as  agriculture 
and  the  other  arts,  would  be  advanced  by  a  general  diffu* 


NATUKAL   HISTORY.  305 

sion  of  knowledge  upon  these  subjects.  It  will  be  sufficient 
to  give  a  few  instances.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  see  pools 
or  vessels  of  water  allowed  to  remain  stagnant  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  houses  and  of  villages.  These  are  usually  full 
of  animal  and  vegetable  substances  in  a  state  of  partial  de- 
cay. Their  offensiveness  to  the  senses  is  borne  with,  be- 
cause it  is  thought  that  this  is  the  extent  of  the  evil.  Would 
they  continue  to  deform  the  prospect  if  it  were  universally 
known  that  from  the  surface  of  stagnant  water  rise,  in  the 
warm  season,  miasmata  that  poison  the  air,  and  sometimes 
generate  fever  1  and  that  these  same  pools  give  birth  to  in- 
numerable insects,  particularly  moschetoes,  greater  pests  to 
man  than  even  disease  ?  The  same  might  be  said  of  the 
low  grounds  on  which,  in  the  beginning  of  summer,  water 
i«  allowed  to  stand,  but  which  could  be  easily  drained  and 
made  healthy. 

Since  the  times  of  the  ancients,  or  a  few  years  in  the  early 
lives  of  our  forefathers,  insects  are  the  only  dangerous  and 
really  troublesome  class  of  animals  with  which  men  have  to 
contend.  Most  of  the  insect  tribes  are  incredibly  prolific, 
so  that,  if  not  checked,  they  would  increase  to  such  a  de.- 
gree  that  there  would  be  no  harvest  for  man  to  reap,  no 
vegetables  to  gather,  no  trees  to  take  shelter  under.  They 
are  kept  in  check,  not  by  man,  for  he  could  do  comparatively 
nothing  against  them  directly,  but  by  the  allies  of  man,  the 
birds,  and  the  reptiles,  and  some  of  the  smaller  quadrupeds. 
There  are  many  species  of  birds  whose  aid  is  essential  to 
our  subsistence,  against  whom  we,  ignorantly  or  perversely, 
make  war,  as  if  they  were  our  enemies.  The  robin,  the 
blackbird,  the  numerous  tribes  of  warblers  which  make  the 
woods  vocal  with  their  songs,  and  multitudes  of  other  birds, 
beautiful,  melodious,  innocent,  spend  their  lives  in  our  ser- 
vice, in  doing  what  we,  without  their  aid,  can  by  no  possi- 
bility do,  and  are,  notwithstanding,  but  too  often  sacrificed 
in  the  cruel  and  thoughtless  sports  of  boys,  or  the  mistaken 
C  c  2 


30ti  STUDIES. 

precautions  of  men.  Wilson  computes  that  a  single  pair  of 
redwinged  blackbirds  consume,  in  a  single  season  of  four 
months,  more  than  twelve  thousand  grubs.*  Each  of  these 
grubs  would  have  become  a  perfect  insect,  and  each,  on  an 
average,  would  have  produced  hundreds  of  young.  Let 
any  one  consider  how  much  good  is  thus  done  by  a  single 
pair  of  harmless  birds,  and  that  there  are  perhaps  a  million 
of  pairs  in  the  State  of  New-York  every  summer,  and  as 
many  more  of  each  of  several  other  kinds  of  birds,  all 
equally  devoted  to  the  service  of  man,  and  he  will  form 
some  conception  of  the  extent  of  their  services,  and  of  the 
folly  of  exterminating  them.  In  this  instance,  the  humanity 
which  would  spare  them  is  at  the  same  time  the  wisest 
policy. 

A  great  portion  of  the  children  at  all  the  public  schools 
of  the  interior  are  destined  to  spend  their  lives  on  farms. 
These  schools  are  their  only  places  of  education.  Should 
not  the  instructer  be  qualified  to  give  them  some  intimation 
of  the  kind  of  knowledge  which  this  mode  of  life  requires  ; 
of  the  nature  of  soils  ;  of  the  animals  they  are  to  employ  ; 
of  the  plants  and  trees  by  which  they  are  surrounded  ? 
Should  he  not  know  something  of  the  science  which  enters 
into  every  process  that  is  carried  on  upon  a  farm,  from  the 
making  of  butter  and  cheese  to  the  making  of  soap  and  the 
preparation  of  compost,  and  of  that  which  explains  the  mo- 
tion of  the  sap  in  the  trees,  and  would  teach  to  find  medi- 
cines in  the  fields,  and  the  material  for  the  supply  of  many 
of  the  arts  in  the  woods  ?  The  instructer  should  be  an  in- 
telligent friend  as  well  as  a  faithful  teacher.  How  much 
might  he  add  to  his  useful  influence  by  being  able  to  point 
out  in  the  bark  of  the  cherry-tree  a  substitute  for  the  gum 
quinia  of  Peru,  or  in  the  bark  of  a  sumach  or  oak  a  substi- 
tute for  dyes  imported  from  distant  parts  of  the  world. 

The  great  study  of  the  teacher  must  be  Human  Physiolo- 
*  Peabody's  Report  on  the  Birds  of  Massachusetts,  p.  278. 


PHYSIOLOGY.  307 

gy.  This  treats  of  the  laws  of  the  human  body,  and  in 
some  measure,  consequently,  of  those  of  the  mind ;  for  so 
intimately  are  they  connected,  that  the  health  and  growth  of 
the  one  depend,  in  a  great  degree,  on  the  health  of  the  other. 
There  is  no  part  of  physiology  of  which  a  teacher  should 
be  entirely  ignorant ;  but  the  portions  with  which  he  is 
more  immediately  concerned  are  those  that  treat  of  respira- 
tion, the  circulation,  digestion,  the  nervous  system,  and  the 
functions  of  the  skin. 

Respiration  is  the  process  of  breathing,  by  which  air  is 
alternately  taken  into  and  throw'n  out  of  the  lungs.  With- 
out some  knowledge  of  the  extent  of  the  cavity  which  is 
thus  filled  and  emptied  at  every  breath,  and  of  the  life-giv- 
ing influence  of  pure  air  upon  the  blood,  and  thence  upon 
the  whole  system,  the  teacher  cannot  be  aware,  as  he  ought, 
of  the  importance  to  his  pupils  of  a  position  while  at  study, 
and  of  exercises  in  play,  which  shall  expand  and  keep  open 
the  cavity  of  the  chest,  or  of  the  vital  necessity  of  a  con- 
stant supply  of  fresh  air.  Neither  can  he,  without  this 
knowledge,  be  sufficiently  awake  to  the  danger  of  compres- 
sion upon  the  chest,  during  the  early  years  of  each  sex, 
from  girdles,  corsets,  or  any  other  unnatural  articles  of  dress 
or  fashion.  This  is  one  of  the  points  at  which  the  enemy 
consumption  so  often  enters. 

Not  less  important  is  some  knowledge  of  the  formation 
and  circulation  of  the  blood.  This  fluid,  formed  from  the 
food  taken  into  the  stomach,  and  thus  affected  by  the  nature 
of  the  food,  is  carried  into  the  heart,  thence  thrown  into  the 
lungs,  where  it  is  exposed  to  the  action  of  air,  thence  car- 
ried back  to  the  heart,  which,  like  a  central  engine,  throws 
it,  through  the  blood-vessels,  into  every  part  of  the  body. 
Unless  sufficiently  supplied  with  air  in  the  lungs,  it  does 
not  carry  an  active  and  vital  energy  to  the  brain  or  to  the 
limbs.  A  knowledge  of  this  simple  fact  would  have  saved 
thousands  of  teachers  from  days  of  weariness  and  exhaus- 
tion, of  low  spirits  and  ill-temper :  how  many  more  than 


309  STUDIES. 

thousands  of  children  from  involuntary  inattention,  from 
stupidity,  from  habits  of  indifference  and  indolence,  and 
from  the  punishments,  immediate  and  remote,  which  all 
these  bring  down  upon  them.  When  a  schoolroom  is  full 
of  bad  air,  the  lungs  cannot  perform  their  office .  The  brain, 
wanting  the  stimulus  of  healthy  blood  from  the  heart  and 
lungs,  becomes  torpid.  The  child  cannot  command  his 
attention ;  he  cannot  think ;  oftentimes  he  cannot  avoid 
Tailing  asleep.  The  master,  himself  oppressed  by  the  same 
rause,  and  driven  almost  to  distraction  by  what  seems  the 
hopeless  stupidity  or  brutal  obstinacy  of  his  pupils,  suffers 
bitterly  himself,  and  visits  heavily  upon  them  the  conse- 
quence of  his  own  ignorance  of  this  law  of  life.  Imagine 
what  sufferings  generations  of  the  occupants  of  schools  have 
endured  from  its  not  being  known  that  an  abundant  supply 
of  pure  air  is  necessary  to  the  healthy  action  of  the  brain. 

The  nervous  system  consists  of  the  brain,  encased  in  the 
scull,  and  filling  the  head ;   the  spinal  marrow,  occupying 
the  cavity  of  tho  back  bone  or  spine  ;  and  the  nerves,  which 
are  delicate  white  threads  proceeding  from  the  brain  or 
from  the  spinal  marrow  to  every  part  of  the  body.     It  is  by 
means  of  the  nerves  that  sensations  are  conveyed  from  each 
of  the  organs  of  sense  to  the  brain  ;  and  it  is  by  their  means 
that  the  will  acts  on  the  several  limbs.    If  one  of  the  nerves 
of  the  arm  be  cut  through,  all  power  over  that  arm  is  lost. 
If  another  be  severed,  sensation  ceases  to  pass  from  the 
arm  to  the  mind.     The  health  of  the  nervous  system  de- 
pends upon  the  health  of  the  brain,  and  indirectly  upon 
whatever  affects  the  general  health  of  the  body,  particularly 
upon  the  supply  of  pure  air.     Thence  it  is  that  no  class  of 
persons  are  so  liable  to  nervous  diseases  as  those  who,  with 
sedentary  habits,  make  great  use  of  the  brain  in  thought  or 
study,  and  little  use  of  the  body,  in  active  exercise,  in  the 
open  air.    It  therefore  behooves  all  sedentary,  studious  per- 
sons, and  especially  teachers,  to  make  themselves  familial 


PHYSIOLOGY.  300 

with  what  concerns  the  healthy  condition  of  the  organ  of 
thought,  the  centre  and  source  of  the  faculties  which  it  is 
one  important  part  of  their  office  to  educate.  The  brain  is 
immediately  connected,  by  nerves,  with  the  stomach,  and 
its  healthy  condition  depends  upon  it  in  a  very  great  de- 
gree. It  is  obvious,  then,  how  important  it  is  to  be  ac- 
quainted with  the  structure  and  character  of  the  stomach 
and  digestive  apparatus.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  dwell 
upon  this  extensive  subject.  I  wish  only  to  say  enough  to 
show  to  such  teachers  as  have  not  given  it  especial  atten- 
tion, how  intimately  it  is  connected  with  their  calling,  that 
they  may  be  induced  to  look  for  full  information  to  those 
authors  who  have  treated  upon  it  at  large. 

In  regard  to  the  office  which  the  teeth  perform  in  the 
preparation  of  food  for  digestion,  by  chewing  or  mastica- 
tion, it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  it  is  essential  to  this  process 
that  it  should  be  performed  slowly  enough  to  allow  the  food 
to  be  completely  mingled  with  saliva.  The  too  common 
practice  of  taking  a  large  quantity  of  food  into  the  mouth  at 
once,  and  swallowing  it  after  very  slight  and  hurried  mas- 
tication, is  as  injurious  to  health  as  it  is  offensive  to  good 
taste  and  good  manners. 

The  principal  offices  performed  by  the  skin, besides  that 
of  shielding  and  protecting  every  part  of  the  surface,  are, 
1st,  serving  as  a  means  of  throwing  off  from  the  system 
that  portion  of  its  substance  which  has  ceased  to  be  of  use, 
and,  2d,  keeping  a  uniformity  of  temperature. 

Every  part  of  the  body  is  in  a  state  of  constant  renova- 
tion and  decay.  In  every  stage  of  life,  and  especially  du- 
ring the  period  of  growth,  the  particles,  of  which  every 
part  is  made  up,  are  removed,  and  brought,  by  vessels  de  • 
signed  for  that  purpose,  to  the  surface  of  the  skin,  through 
the  innumerable  pores  by  which  it  is  penetrated.  From 
twenty  to  thirty,  or  even  forty  ounces  of  matter,  are  thu.s 
thrown  out  of  the  system  in  the  course  of  every  twenty- 


310  STUDIES. 

four  hours.  When  the  skin  is  clean  and  in  a  healthy 
state,  these  particles  are  thrown  from  its  surface  by  what 
we  call  the  insensible  perspiration.  They  are  thrown,  min- 
gled with  an  invisible  vapour,  into  the  air  by  which  the  body 
is  surrounded,  contaminating  it,  and  thus  giving  an  addi- 
tional reason  why  there  should  be  a  constant  supply  of  puns 
fresh  air.  A  portion  of  them,  however,  is  deposited  on  the 
surface,  from  which  they  must  be  daily  removed  by  the  ap- 
plication of  water.  If  allowed  to  accumulate,  they  soon 
close  the  pores,  stop  or  impede  the  perspiration,  and  cause 
various  diseases  of  the  skin.  The  eruptions  so  often  seen 
on  the  skin  of  children  allowed  to  be  habitually  dirty,  may 
be  usually  traced  to  this  source.  This  is  a  common,  but 
it  is  not  the  worst  effect.  The  waste  and  useless  parti- 
cles of  old  and  dead  matter,  of  which  the  body  should  be 
rid,  being  forced  to  remain  within  it,  accumulate,  and  act 
upon  it  as  foreign  and  poisonous  substances,  finally  produ- 
cing, when  carried  to  excess,  disorder  and  disease,  in  the 
various  oppressive  and  horrid  forms  of  headaches,  con- 
sumption, dysentery,  and  fever.  The  simple  and  effectual 
preventive  of  these  effects  is  cleanliness,  co-operating  with 
the  sensible  perspiration  produced  by  active  and  continued 
exercise. 

Another  office  of  the  skin  is  to  regulate  the  temperature 
of  the  body.  When  the  body  is  exposed  to  unusual  heat, 
an  oppressive,  burning  sensation  is  first  experienced.  This 
seems  to  excite  to  action  vessels  of  the  skin,  which  moist- 
en the  surface  with  the  sensible  perspiration  or  sweat, 
whose  evaporation  immediately  produces  an  agreeable  sen- 
sation of  coolness.  In  health,  this  operation  takes  place 
whenever  it  is  necessary.  By  cold  the  skin  is  contracted, 
perspiration  checked,  and  a  portion  of  the  animal  heat  kept 
in.  When  excessive,  cold  must  be  guarded  against  by  ex- 
ercise, clothing,  and  artificial  heat.  These  we  have  at  our 
command  ;  the  remedy  for  the  effects  of  extreme  heat  is 


NATURAL    LAWS.  311 

I 

provided  by  the  beneficence  of  our  constitution.  A  sudden 
check  of  the  perspiration,  sensible  or  insensible,  by  a  cur- 
rent of  cold  air,  by  dampness,  or  by  sudden  cessation  from 
exercise  in  a  cold  place,  may  be,  and  often  is,  productive 
of  disease  in  a  milder  or  more  aggravated  form.* 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    NATURAL    LAWS. 

"  All  the  happiness  of  man  is  derived  from  discovering,  applying, 
or  obeying  the  laws  of  his  Creator,  and  all  his  misery  is  the  result 
of  ignorance  or  disobedience." — WAYLAND. 

THE  object  of  education,  in  its  highest  sense,  is  to  draw 
out,  naturally  and  fully,  every  faculty  of  the  body,  mind,  and 
soul.t  To  be  able  to  do  this,  or  to  do  anything  towards  it, 
the  teacher  must  know  what  are  the  faculties,  and  what  are 
the  laws  of  their  action.  A  universal  law,  and  one  which 
applies  equally  to  the  physical,  intellectual,  and  moral  na- 
ture, is  this  :  Every  power  is  improved  by  exercise.  This  is 
the  key  to  the  teacher's  duty. 

Illustrations  of  the  truth  of  this  law  are  presented  by  the 
known  effects  of  exercise  on  the  limbs  and  muscles  of  the 
body.  The  bones  and  muscles  in  the  arm  of  a  blacksmith 

*  The  whole  object  of  these  paragraphs  is  to  %how  how  indispen- 
sable to  a  teacher  is  some  knowledge  of  the  systems  and  functions 
to  which  I  have  adverted.  For  satisfactory  information  upon  these 
subjects,  I  must  refer  to  the  excellent  work  of  Andrew  Combe  on 
Health  and  Mental  Education,  which  forms  the  71st  volume  of  the 
Family  Library,  and  to  the  work  of  Dr.  Hayward  on  Physiology. 
These  two  works  should  be  studied  in  connexion,  as  they  occupy 
different  portions  of  the  ground. 

t  Tt  has  been  well  described,  "  the  harmonious  development  of 
every  power  for  thought,  action,  duty,  and  happiness." 


312  STUDIES. 

acquire  strength  and  firmness  which  give  to  his  grasp  a 
force  almost  equal  to  that  of  his  own  vice.  A  similar  effect 
is  produced  on  the  bones  and  muscles  of  the  person  who 
spends  many  hours  every  day  in  swift  walking.  So  a  weak 
voice  may  be  gradually  strengthened  by  moderate  daily  ex- 
ercif  e  in  speaking.  This  is  an  important  fact  to  the  teach- 
er. Though  his  voice  may  have  little  strength  at  first, 
daily  practice,  with  a  force  constantly  but  very  gradually 
increased,  will  at  last  enable  him  to  fill  without  difficulty 
the  largest  schoolroom,  and  to  continue  talking  for  a  long 
time  at  once.  All  the  properties  of  the  voice  may  be  im- 
proved by  cultivation.  An  indistinct  utterance  maybe  con- 
verted into  the  fullest  and  clearest  articulation.  A  clownish 
and  provincial  accent  may  give  place  to  beautiful  and  grace- 
ful pronunciation. 

Delicacy  and  perfection,  as  well  as  strength,  are  also 
given  by  exercise.  This  is  in  no  instance  more  remark- 
able than  in  that  of  the  blind,  who  acquire,  from  necessity, 
a  nicety  of  touch,  inconceivable  to  one  who  has  the  use  of 
his  eyes.  The  effect  of  exercise  upon  the  power  of  vision 
is  exemplified  in  the  case  of  the  sailor,  who,  constantly  ex- 
ercising his  eyes  upon  distant  objects,  reads  the  name  of 
a  ship  at  a  distance  at  which  a  landsman  can  hardly  see 
that  there  is  a  name  to  be  read. 

What  is  thus  universally  true  of  all  the  senses  and  facul- 
ties of  the  body,  is  no  less  so  of  the  powers  of  the  mind. 
This  law,  indeed,  is  the  foundation  of  the  theory  of  educa- 
tion. It  is  by  exercise  that  all  the  faculties  are  improved. 
Address  the  love  of  knowledge, — that  curiosity  which  is  in- 
stinctive in  every  mind, — and  you  increase  it.  Tell  an  in- 
teresting story,  or  communicate  facts  which  he  can  compre- 
hend, to  a  child,  every  day  for  months,  and  you  awaken  and 
increase  his  desire  for  similar  facts  and  his  power  of  com- 
prehending them.  The  perceptions  are  quickened,  the 
power  of  observation  is  sharpened,  the  memory  made  ready 


NATURAL    LAWS.  3^3 

and  tenacious,  the  reason  strengthened,  the  comprehension 
enlarged,  the  judgment  matured,  the  taste  corrected,  by  a 
process  precisely  similar  to  that  by.  which  the  external 
senses  are  carried  to  their  perfection.  This  is  mental  ed- 
ucation. Must  not  the  teacher  know  what  these  powers 
are,  and  what  are  the  means  by  which  they  are  to  be  train- 
ed ?  To  dwell  for  a  moment  upon  a  single  faculty.  It  be- 
comes of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  teacher  to  cultivate 
the  power  of  language.  Much  of  his  success  must  depend 
upon  his  skill  in  the  use  of  words  ;  not  mere  sounds,  but 
words  as  the  clothing  of  thought.  If  he  exercise  himself 
carefully  in  the  use  of  language,  in  expressing  himself  upon 
all  subjects  and  on  all  occasions,  he  will  gradually,  even  if 
he  have  but  moderate  natural  powers  of  expression,  become 
fluent,  clear,  and  impressive.  It  is  a  long  process,  but  the 
object  to  be  attained  is  worth  all  we  can  do  to  attain  it. 

The  effects  of  use,  of  constant  exercise,  upon  the  devel- 
opment of  the  moral  powers,  are  not  less  striking  nor  less 
certain  than  on  those  of  the  intellect  or  the  body.  This 
momentous  part  of  a  teacher's  duty  has  been  signally,  sadly 
neglected. 

Just  as  the  memory  is  improved  by  cultivating  it,  so  also 
are  the  animal  propensities.  So,  for  example,  is  the  dis- 
position to  quarrel.  If  you  excite  this  propensity  often, 
you  increase  its  violence.  A  violent  child  is  not  to  be  con- 
quered and  reformed  by  violence — that  only  makes  him  still 
more  violent — but  by  gentleness  and  kindness.  A  propen- 
sity to  hate  is  strengthened  by  exercise.  Whatever  is  said 
or  done  to  increase  the  feeling  towards  an  individual,  in- 
creases the  power  of  the  general  habit.  An  object  of  affec- 
tion must  be  substituted,  in  order  to  change  the  habit.  Love 
must  be  introduced  into  its  place.  This  shows  what  course 
is  to  be  taken  with  a  child  of  an  unamiable  character. 
Scolding  should  be  entirely  avoided;  it  only  exasperates 
the  unamiable  feeling.  We  must  not  hate  such  a  child. 
DD 


314  STUDIES. 

If  we  do,  the  Avhole  force  of  our  example  will  be  thrown  on 
the  side  of  his  evil  feelings.  We  must  love  him,  and,  fol- 
lowing the  golden  rule,  overcome  his  evil  with  our  good. 
Really  love  him,  and  kindness  will  grow  in  his  heart  in  an- 
swering sympathy  to  the  kindness  in  ours. 

Again,  we  must  take  care  to  exercise  the  principle 
which  we  wish  to  strengthen.  The  love  of  knowledge 
is  not  cherished  by  an  appeal  to  the  love  of  distinction,  but 
only  the  love  of  distinction.  Let  a  conscientious  person 
daily  and  earnestly  address  the  conscience  of  a  child ;  he 
soon  awakens  it  to  action,  and  it  becomes  more  and  more 
active  the  more  it  is  called  to  act.  A  duty  is  to  be  per- 
formed because  it  is  right.  'Let  that  ground  be  taken  and 
maintained,  and  the  habit  of  acting  from  a  sense  of  right 
will  be  constantly  strengthened,  till  it  is  at  last  firmly  estab- 
lished. But  to  prove  that  the  performance  of  a  duty  will 
bring  advantages,  is  to  address  a  selfish  principle.  The 
habit  of  doing  right  may  indeed  thereby  be  formed,  but,  at 
the  same  time,  the  habit  of  doing  it  from  an  imperfect  mo- 
tive. To  discourse  upon  morals  is  not  necessarily  to  teach 
morality.  The  discourse  may  be  addressed  to  the  under- 
standing, and  not  to  the  conscience  ;  and  if  so,  it  will  be  the 
understanding,  and  not  the  conscience,  which  will  be  affected 
and  exercised.  Moral  education  consists  in  leading  one  to 
act  from  conscientious  motives.  So  the  truth  should  be  told 
because  it  is  the  truth,  and  because  its  obligation  is  declared 
to  be  sacred  by  the  conscience  as  well  as  by  the  Scriptures. 
It  is,  indeed,  better  to  tell  the  truth  for  the  reason  that  it  is 
expedient  and  good  policy  to  tell  ther  truth,  than  not  to  tell  it 
at  all.  But  this  is  not  making  it  a  duty,  but  a  part  of  world- 
ly prudence.  It  is  not  exercising  the  conscience,  but  a  far 
lower  part  of  our  nature.  It  is  not  enough  to  establish  the 
habit  of  doing  right ;  the  essential  thing  is  to  establish  the 
habit  of  acting  only  from  the  highest  motives,  of  doing  right 
from  principle  and  conscience. 


NATURAL    LAWS.  315 

This  most  important  part  of  a  teacher's  duty  needs  at- 
tention at  every  stage  of  the  pupil's  progress.  Children 
are  capable  of  acting  from  conscientious  motives  at  a  very 
early  age.  The  sense  of  right  begins  to  show  itself  as 
soon  as  language  begins  to  be  used.  The  best  and  most 
intelligible  argument  against  falsehood,  at  any  age,  is,  It  is 
wrong.  This  a  child  can  understand  and  feel,  and  no  lan- 
guage or  reasoning  of  a  philosopher  can  add  any  force  to 
it.  So  of  all  other  vices  and  faults.  The  best  argument 
against  them  is  to  show  that  they  are  wrong.  The  teacher 
should  therefore  study  to  acquire  clear  conceptions  of  right 
and  wrong  himself,  and  the  power  of  expressing  his  concep- 
tions in  simple  and  forcible  language. 


CHAPTER  III. 

INDEPENDENCE  OF  THE  NATURAL  LAWS. 

"  Wherefore  do  the  wicked  live,  become  old,  yea,  are  mighty  in 
power1?" — JOB. 

"  Happy  is  he  who  lives  to  understand 
Not  human  nature  only,  but  explores 
All  natures,  to  the  end  that  he  may  find 
The  law  that  governs  each." — WOBDSWOKTH. 

EVER  since  the  days  of  Job,  the  question  has  been  con- 
stantly coming  up,  How  happens  it  that  the  good  are  afflict- 
ed and  the  bad  are  prosperous  1  that  "  there  is  one  event 
to  the  righteous  and  to  the  wicked  ?"*  that  the  sinner  often 
enjoys  health,  and  fortune,  and  ease,  while  the  good  man  is 
depressed  by  poverty  and  disease,  and  all  the  forms  of  trou- 
ble? 

The  instructions  of  Jesus  Christ  upon  this  subject,  though 
not  full,  are,  when  we  come  to  understand  them,  clear  and 

*  Eccl.,  ix.,  2. 


3)6  STUDlESs. 

satisfactory.  But  to  understand  them  is  not  always  easy, 
until  we  consider  the  truth  of  certain  facts,  and  divest  our- 
selves of  the  false  views  with  which  most  of  us  are  accus- 
tomed to  consider  them. 

Upon  this  subject  there  are  a  few  considerations  with 
which  the  teacher  should  be  familiar,  of  great  importance,  as 
they  help  him  to  reconcile  the  apparent  contradictions  in  the 
beautiful  system  of  God's  providence. 

One  is,  that  the  body  is  as  really  the  workmanship  of  God 
as  the  mind,  and  the  laws  of  its  structure  and  health,  though 
they  may  be  of  less  extensive  importance,  are  as  really  His 
laws  as  those  of  religion  or  morality.  In  regard  to  them, 
all  men  are  treated  with  entire  impartiality.  HE  who  makes 
his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on  the  good,  and  sends  his 
rain  on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust,  has  made  the  laws  of  his 
material  creation  and  of  the  body  equally  binding  on  all  his 
creatures.  The  good  man  is  just  as  liable  to  ill  health,  if  he 
neglect  the  laws  of  health,  as  the  bad  man.  The  mission- 
ary, engaged  in  one  of  the  holiest  works  that  man  can  be 
engaged  in,  sickens  and  dies  if  he  do  not  Understand  the 
climate  in  which  he  is  living,  or  if,  knowing  its  character, 
he  neglect  to  take  the  necessary  precautions  against  its  ma- 
lignancy. A  congregation  of  worshippers,  assembled  in  a 
house  the  supports  of  whose  roof  are  insufficient  or  decay- 
ed, is  overwhelmed  by  its  fall  no  less  certainly  than  a  band 
of  robbers  would  have  been.  A  man  of  piety,  embarked  on 
board  a  leaky  ship,  sinks  as  surely  as  a  profane  man.*  God 
interposes  not  to  change  his  physical  laws,  but  requires  all, 
the  good  as  well  as  the  bad,  to  obey  them.  Does  it  seem 
unreasonable  that  he  should  expect  his  friends,  as  well  as 
his  enemies,  to  obey  all  his  laws — those  of  the  body  and  the 
material  world  as  well  as  those  of  the  soul  and  the  spiritual 
world  ? 

Another  important  general  consideration  is,  that  these  laws 

*  This  seems  to  be  the  doctrine  of  Christ  in  Luke,  xiii.,  1-5. 


NATURAL   LAWS.  317 

are  independent  of  each  other.  The  man  who  understands 
and  obeys  the  laws  of  physical  health,  will  probably  enjoy 
it, though  he  maybe  unjust,  unmerciful,  and  profane  ;  while 
the  good  man,  who  wears  out  his  constitution  in  exertions 
which  are  beyond  his  strength,  though  he  do  it  in  the  ser- 
vice of  God  or  his  fellow  men,  brings  upon  himself  disease 
and  all  its  consequences.  In  this  case  the  good  man  obeys 
the  moral  laws,  but  disobeys  the  laws  of  the  body,  and  is  pun- 
ished in  consequence  of  this  disobedience. 

A  third  consideration  is,  that  the  observance  of  each  law 
is  followed  by  its  own  reward.  Labour  and  skill  accom- 
plish their  purposes  independently  of  the  character  of  those 
who  employ  them.  If  the  bad  man  cultivates  his  field  dili- 
gently and  skilfully,  he  will  have  a  plentiful  crop,  while  the 
field  of  the  good  man,  neglected,  or  managed  without  regard 
to  the  nature  of  the  soil  or  the  seed  sown  in  it,  will  be  bar- 
ren. It  is  the  hand  of  the  diligent  that  maketh  rich.  So  it 
is  with  the  mind.  He  who  observes  the  laws  of  the  intel- 
lect, and  diligently  employs  all  its  faculties,  will  reap  the 
fruits  of  his  labour,  whether  he  observe  the  higher  moral 
laws  or  not.  Let  a  man  of  natural  talent  apply  himself  to 
the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  and  give  his  days  and  nights 
to  study — he  will  gain  knowledge,  he  will  become  learned, 
whether  he  be  virtuous  or  vicious,  a  profane  scorner  or  an 
humble  worshipper. 

If  we  observe  all  the  laws,  those  of  the  material  world, 
those  of  our  own  bodies,  those  of  the  intellect,  and  the  re- 
vealed laws, — those  of  our  moral  nature,  we  shall  do  our 
whole  duty,  and  our  reward  will  be  proportionally  great. 
The  true  and  appropriate  reward  of  obedience  to  the  moral 
laws,  so  far  as  this  world  is  concerned,  is  peace  of  mind,  the 
approbation  of  our  own  conscience,  the  satisfaction  of  doing 
good,  and  the  favour  of  good  men.  All  these  we  lose  by 
violating  these  laws.  Would  it  be  just  that  we  should  also 
lose  health,  property,  and  reason  ? 
D  D  2 


318  STUDIES. 

Another  important  law  in  regard  to  each  of  the  faculties 
is,  that  while  its  due  and  natural  exercise  develops,  strength- 
ens, and  improves  it,  undue  or  untimely  exercise,  over- 
exertion,  strains,  weakens,  and  tends  to  destroy  it.  It  is 
therefore  of  the  highest  importance  to  know,  not  only  what 
kind  of  discipline  each  faculty  requires  for  its  growth  and 
healthy  development,  but  also  what  are  the  times  at  which 
it  should  be  given,  and  what  are  the  limits  within  which 
it  should  be  confined.  The  happiness  of  life  may  be  de- 
stroyed, and  life  itself  shortened,  by  excess  in  the  use  of 
the  powers  of  the  body,  mind,  or  moral  nature. 

First,  of  the  powers  of  the  body.  Each  one  of  these  ac- 
quires its  full  strength  very  slowly.  The  body  itself  comes 
to  maturity  at  different  ages  in  different  individuals,  but  not 
usually  in  man  before  twenty-five  or  thirty  years,  and  in 
woman  not  before  twenty  or  twenty-five.  To  subject  any 
one  part  to  great  and  continued  exertion  before  the  period 
of  its  full  strength,  is  to  endanger  its  health  ever  after.  To 
require  of  the  whole  body,  before  maturity,  the  constant  and 
severe  exercise  to  which  the  mature  body  only  is  fitted,  is 
to  ensure  ill  health  and  to  invite  premature  death. 

It  is  found  in  the  French  and  English  armies,  that  young 
recruits,  such  as  enter  the  army  before  the  age  of  23,  are 
poorly  able  to  bear  the  labours  and  exposures  of  a  military 
life,  even  in  time  of  peace.  A  writer  referred  to  in  Dr. 
Andrew  Combe's  work  on  Health,*  states  that  "  volunteers 
received  into  the  French  army  at  the  age  of  18  or  20,  pass 
two,  three,  or  four  years  of  their  period  of  service  (eight 
years)  in  hospital,  solely  from  inability  to  bear  up  under 
difficulties  which  scarcely  affect  those  who  are  a  few  years 
older."  The  same  author  states,  that  in  the  English  army 
in  Spain,  "  sickness  and  inefficiency  prevailed  almost  in  pro- 
portion to  the  youth  and  recent  arrival  of  the  soldiers."  In 
a  single  regiment,  the  number  of  young  recruits  was  353,  of 
*  Health  and  Mental  Education,  p.  287. 


NATURAL    LAWS.  319 

whom  "  more  than  one  half  died  within  the  first  eleven 
months;"  while  the  number  of  old  soldiers  was  1143,  of 
whom  only  77  perished  in  the  same  time.  The  same  prin- 
ciple would  probably  be  found  to  hold  true  wherever  very 
young  men  are  subjected  to  the  labours  of  the  full-grown 
man.  It  is,  however,  not  easy  to  get  statements  except 
from  the  army,  as  there  only  is  an  exact  record  kept  of  the 
ages  of  all  persons  employed. 

Indeed,  it  seems  to  be  a  universal  truth,  that  during  those 
years  in  which  the  body  is  acquiring  its  growth  and  strength, 
it  should  not  only  be  supplied  with  abundance  of  nourishing 
food,  and  be  allowed  a  great  deal  of  sleep,  but  neither  body 
nor  mind  should  be  exposed  to  severe  or  long-continued, 
much  less  sudden  labour,  or  that  which  is  not  prepared  for 
by  gradual  exercise. 

The  pernicious  effects  of  premature  or  excessive  appli- 
cation of  the  mind  are  exemplified  by  the  cases  of  preco- 
cious children.  They  are  usually  very  short  lived,  and, 
if  they  live  to  maturity,  are  very  ordinary  men.  Also,  by 
the  numerous  instances  of  sedentary  men,  especially  reli- 
gious teachers,  who,  by  extreme  devotion  to  their  duties, 
those  particularly  which  require  great  action  and  produce 
great  excitement  of  mind,  as  the  preparation  of  sermons, 
often  bring  on  a  nervous  or  consumptive  habit,  which  obli- 
ges them  afterward  to  lead  useless  and  miserable  lives. 

Instances  of  excess  in  the  use  of  the  moral  powers  are 
easily  found  in  the  records  of  asylums  for  the  insane,  which 
present  the  cases  of  many  who  have  had  the  equilibrium 
of  their  minds  disturbed  by  anxiety  in  regard  to  religious  du- 
ties, while  they  neglected  those  other  laws  of  their  nature 
which  an  enlightened  view  of  their  whole  system,  body  as 
well  as  soul,  as  the  workmanship  of  God,  would  have 
shown  them  to  be  laws  to  be  observed  as  really,  if  not  as 
sacredly,  as  the  laws  of  the  moral  code.* 

*  See  Combe  on  the  Constitution  of  Man. 


320  HIGHER    STUDIES. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

HIGHER    STUDIES. 

"  To  ask  or  search,  I  blame  thee  not,  for  heav'n 
Is  as  the  book  of  GOD  before  thee  set, 
Wherein  to  read  his  wond'rous  works,  and  learn 
His  seasons,  hours,  or  days,  or  months,  or  years." 

MILTON. 

"  Truth  has  her  pleasure-grounds,  her  haunts  of  ease 
And  easy  contemplation ; 
These  may  he  range,  if  willing  to  partake 
Their  soft  indulgences,  and  in  due  time 
May  issue  thence,  recruited  for  the  tasks 
And  course  of  service  Truth  requires  from  those 
Who  tend  her  altars,  wait  upon  her  throne, 
And  guard  her  fortresses." — WORDSWORTH. 

ANOTHER  study,  with  the  great  truths  of  which  the  teach- 
ers of  the  highest  schools  should  be  acquainted,  is  Astrono- 
my. Nothing  else  gives  us  so  exalted  ideas  of  the  vast- 
ness  of  the  Creator's  dominions,  and  the  infinity  of  the 
power  and  goodness  which  he  is  constantly  exerting.  No- 
thing, therefore,  so  elevates  and  expands  the  mind.  If  we 
would  fill  our  minds  with  high  thoughts  of  the  greatness 
of  our  Father,  and  of  the  unlimited  expansion  of  that  be- 
nevolence which  is  extended  to  the  inhabitants  of  thou- 
sands of  worlds — of  the  comprehensiveness  of  those  laws 
of  beauty  and  order  which  embrace  countless  systems  of 
worlds,  we  must  study  Astronomy.  But,  independently  of 
the  dignity  of  the  science  as  an  occupation  for  the  intellect, 
and  as  a  preparation  for  higher  conceptions  of  that  love 
which,  while  it  has  an  infinite  universe  to  act  in,  and  count- 
less intelligences  to  bless,  takes  care  even  of  the  sparrows, 
and  hears  the  cry  of  the  young  raven,  Astronomy  has  claims 


ASTRONOMY THE    ARTS.  321 

upon  us  on  account  of  its  numerous  daily  applications. 
The  seasons  of  the  year,  the  recurrence  of  light  and  dark- 
ness, the  lengthening  and  shortening  of  the  days,  the  beau- 
tiful changes  of  the  moon,  the  wonderful  eclipses,  are  sub- 
jects about  which  we  should  be  familiar,  for  they  are  the 
theme  of  the  watchful  and  insatiable  curiosity  of  children, 
and  in  regard  to  them  every  tolerably  educated  individu- 
al should  have  his  questionings  answered.  To  do  this  in 
some  degree  not  entirely  unsatisfactory,  requires  no  profound 
knowledge,  but  such  only  as  may  be  obtained  from  some  of 
the  common  treatises  upon  the  subject.*  The  size,  shape, 
and  motions  of  the  earth,  the  distances,  magnitudes,  and 
motions  of  the  sun  and  moon,  the  difference  between  the 
fixed  stars  and  the  planets,  the  extent  of  the  atmosphere,  the 
tides  of  the  ocean, — these  are  nearly  all  the  essential  points, 
though  more  would  be  useful.  In  connexion  with  Astrono- 
my, something  of  the  nature  and  laws  of  light  may  be  ex- 
plained. A  few  articles  of  optical  and  astronomical  appa- 
ratus will  be  of  great  use  ;  but,  when  they  are  not  to  be 
had,  substitutes  can  be"  found  for  all  except  a  prism.  There 
are  thousands  of  districts  in  which  children  will  be  able  to 
obtain  information  on  these  interesting  subjects  from  no  one 
except  the  teacher  of  the  district  school.  Shall  they  look  to 
him  in  vain  ? 

Another  subject  is  the  arts,  especially  the  common  and 
useful  arts.  Children  are  curious  as  to  the  manner  in 
which  the  things  about  them  are  made.  What  is  glass 
made  of  ?  How  are  books  made  ?  and  tables,  chairs, 
knives,  earthenware  ?  Such  questions  they  ask  in  regard 
to  all  objects  that  meet  their  sight.  The  more  satisfactori- 
ly we  can  answer  them,  the  more  pleasure  shall  we  give, 
the  greater  interest  shall  we  excite  in  the  minds  of  chil- 
dren, the  more  fully  shall  we  answer  the  demand  upon  us 

*  For  example,  Celestial  Scenery,  by  Dick,  the  83d  number  of  the 
Family  Library. 


322  HIGHER    STUDIES. 

to  furnish  them  with  knowledge  of  practical  use,  and  the 
more  effectually  shall  we  excite  that  curiosity  which  is 
only  another  name  for  the.  activity  of  certain  powers  of  the 
mind,  the  energies  of  whose  action  is  one  of  the  important 
circumstances  that  make  a  difference  between  man  and 
man.  A  study  of  the  arts  is  among  the  preparations  we 
are  to  make  to  teach  Geography  satisfactorily  and  profita- 
bly. Oblige  a  child  to  commit  to  memory  the  boundaries, 
cities,  and  rivers  of  Poland,  and  he  will  be  likely  to  forget 
all ;  but  if  you  give  him  a  description  of  the  salt-mines  of 
Cracow,  and  the  mode  of  preparing  the  salt  there,  he  will 
remember  it,  and  the  other  facts  associated  with  it.  Some 
such  fact  in  regard  to  the  arts  may  be  a  part  of  each  day's 
preparation  for  the  lesson.  What  can  be  more  interesting 
than  the  coal-mines,  and  the  preparation  of  iron,  gold,  and 
the  other  metals  ?* 

In  teaching  Geography,  you  will  find  constant  need  of  a 
knowledge  of  History,  and  there  is  no  way  in  which  both 
can  be  made  so  interesting  as  by  teaching  them  in  connex- 
ion. A  place  which  would  soon  be  forgotten  if  nothing  but 
its  name  and  situation  were  mentioned,  becomes  engraven 
on  the  mind,  by  being  associated  \vith  some  remarkable 
event  in  history,  some  curious  phenomenon  in  nature,  or 
some  interesting  operation  in  art.  History,  therefore,  should 
be  one  of  your  studies.  The  most  important  portions  of 
history  are  that  of  our  own  country,  and  of  England,  as  thence 
are  derived  our  government,  laws,  institutions,  language,  and 
literature ;  and  the  history  of  the  modern  Western  nations 
of  Europe,  of  Greece  and  Rome,  and  of  the  Jews  and  other 
nations  in  the  west  of  Asia,  as  contained  in  the  scriptures 
of  the  Old  Testament. 

An  ancient  philosopher,  being  asked  what  a  child  should 
(earn,  answered,  what  will  be  of  use  to  him  when  he  be- 

*  Hazen's  Technology  contains  a  great  deal  of  valuable  informa- 
tion on  the  useful  and  fine  arts. 


CONSTITUTION    AND    CIVIL    LAWS.  323 

comes  a.  man.  It  is  our  happiness  to  live  in  a  country  where 
all  men  have  equal  rights ;  where  each  individual  man  has 
a  voice  in  the  government,  by  helping,  through  his  vote,  to 
elect  those  who  carry  on  the  government ;  where  every  man 
may  be  called  to  take  a  part  in  the  government  by  being 
elected  to  office  ;  and  where  he  is  almost  sure  to  take  a  part 
in  the  administration  of  justice,  by  being  called  to  serve  on  a 
jury.  These  rights  give  birth  to  corresponding  duties.  Every 
man  ought  to  understand  the  frame  of  the  government  under 
which  he  lives ;  to  know  something  of  the  constitution  on 
which  that  government  is  based  ;  of  the  laws  which  he  is 
bound  to  obey,  and  of  his  rights  and  duties  as  a  citizen. 
This  knowledge  comes  not  by  intuition,  nor  is  it  the  dictate 
of  mere  unassisted  common  sense.  It  ought  to  be  commu- 
nicated in  the  course  of  his  education.  The  masters  of  the 
highest  class  of  common  schools, — those  masters  from  whose 
hands  a  large  part  of  the  population  pass  directly  to  the  bu- 
siness and  duties  of  life,  should  therefore  be  able  to  com- 
municate something  of  this  kind  of  knowledge.  A  study  of 
the  Constitution  of  the  State  and  of  the  Union,  of  the  gen- 
eral frame  of  our  government,  and  of  the  character  of  our 
institutions  and  laws,  must  therefore  be  a  part  of  the  duty 
of  those  teachers.  Instruction  in  this  department  may  not 
be  a  part  of  the  course  prescribed,  but  it  may,  and,  if  possi- 
ble, should,  be  given  in  the  indirect  conversational  mode  of 
which  I  have  so  often  spoken.  One  or  two  volumes  will 
be  sufficient  for  the  purpose  of  giving  the  teacher  what  he 
will  wish  to  communicate.  Several  such  exist ;  Story's 
Constitutional  Class  Book,  Sullivan's  Political  Class  Book, 
and  others  of  a  similar  class. 

A  distinguishing  attribute  of  man, — that  which,  more  than 
any  other,  raised  him  to  his  high  place  in  the  creation, — is 
the  faculty  of  language,  by  means  of  which  he  holds  com- 
munion with  his  Maker,  matures  his  own  thoughts  and 
avails  himself  of  the  thoughts  of  others,  makes  himself  mas- 
ter of  the  accumulated  wisdom  of  time,  and  imparts  to  him 


324  HIGHER    STUDIES. 

who  comes  after  whatever  he  has  gleaned.  It  behoove* 
the  teacher  to  perfect  himself  in  the  use  of  this  faculty.  It 
is  his  instrument.  Very  much  of  his  success,  of  the  influ- 
ence he  is  to  exert  on  his  pupils,  will  depend  upon  his  skill 
in  the  use  of  it. 

If  he  is  not  by  nature  highly  gifted  in  the  power  of  ex- 
pression, he  may,  by  proper  self-discipline,  improve  the 
power  almost  indefinitely.  To  this  end  he  must  give  his 
attention  to  three  points  :  1.  Utterance.  2.  Pronunciation. 
3.  Command  of  language,  or  fluency.  Of  the  two  former  I 
shall  speak  hereafter. 

Command  of  language  is  to  be  gained  by  much  reading 
of  good  books.  This  is  the  first  requisite.  He  who  would 
use  language  freely  and  well  must  be  a  great  reader.  But 
this  is  not  enough.  He  must  also  write.  Dr.  Franklin 
recommends  an  excellent  method,  upon  which  he  success- 
fully practised  himself,  to  form  a  good  style  and  obtain 
command  of  language.  He  took  some  essay  from  the 
Spectator,  made  short  hints  of  the  sense  of  each  sentence, 
and  laid  them  aside  until  he  had  forgotten  the  language  in 
which  they  were  written.  Then,  without  looking  at  the 
book,  he  tried  to  complete  the  paper  again,  by  writing  out 
each  hinted  sentence  at  length  in  the  best  words  that  oc- 
curred to  him.  He  then  improved  his  own  writing  by 
comparing  it  with  the  original  and  correcting  the  faults 
Another  method,  Avhich  he  thought  still  more  effectual,  as 
giving  a  greater  choice  of  words,  was  turning  some  tales  of 
the  Spectator  into  verse,  and  afterward,  when  he  had  nearly 
forgotten  the  prose,  turning  them  back  again.* 

Careful  composition  of  any  kind,  on  any  subject,  in  prose 
or  poetry,  will  have  the  effect  of  giving  copiousness  of  ex- 
pression and  exactness  of  thought.  To  this  must  be  added 
the  habit  of  speaking  upon  any  subjects  on  which  pupils 
are  to  be  addressed.  This  should  be  practised  daily. 
*  Sparks's  edition  of  the  Works  of  Franklin,  vol.  i.,  18,  19. 


FLUENCY — RHETORIC — LOGIC.         325 

Stories  should  be  told,  historical  events  related,  curious 
facts  stated,  and  advice  given,  upon  subjects  of  conduct, 
study,  and  character.  If  you  find  that  you  forget  what  you 
intended  to  say,  it  may  be  well  to  make  short  notes,  the 
sight  of  which  will  recall  what  you  have  thought. 

1.  In  preparation,  make  yourself  master  of  the  subject  by 
study  and  meditation. 

2.  Arrange  what  you  have  to   say  in  distinct  heads. 
This  will  improve  your  powers  of  reasoning  and  of  order. 

3.  It  may  be  well  to  select  subjects  on  which  you  ought 
to  say  something. 

4.  Take  occasions  as  they  present  themselves  in  school, 
or  make  occasions. 

While  engaged  in  improving  the  power  of  expression,  we 
must  also  endeavour  to  gain  an  acquaintance  with  the  best 
writers  in  the  English  language.  It  is  a  privilege  belong- 
ing to  our  calling,  that  it  leaves  us  several  hours  each  day 
for  reading.  And  what  can  be  a  better  or  pleasanter  way 
of  spending  these  hours  than  in  reading  the  admirable 
books  of  which  our  literature  is  full  1  But  more  of  this 
hereafter. 

Intimately  connected  with  this  department,  and  essential 
to  its  completeness,  is  the  study  of  Rhetoric  and  Logic. 
Something  of  both  these  is  essential  to  enable  us  to  explain 
the  words  that  occur  in  the  common  reading-books.  But, 
more  than  this,  Rhetoric  is  the  art  of  persuading,  Logic  the 
art  of  convincing ; — Who  has  occasion  for  all  the  resources 
of  both  more  than  he  who  is  engaged  in  convincing  chil- 
dren of  the  truth,  and  persuading  them  to  obey  it ; — who  is,  at 
the  same  time,  moulding  the  affections,  and  training  the 
powers  of  the  understanding  ? 

I  would  recommend  to  every  teacher  who  has,  or  can  cre- 
ate, an  opportunity,  to  become  acquainted  with  some  other 
language  besides  the  English.  If  possible,  he  should  learn 
something  of  the  Latin  language.  The  reasons  for  so  do- 
EE 


326  HIGHER    STUDIES. 

ing  are  briefly  these  :  1.  It  is  one  of  the  great  sources  of 
English,  particularly  of  most  of  those  words  we  call  dic- 
tionary words.  2.  It  is  the  parent  of  all  the  languages  of 
the  South  of  Europe.  3.  It  has  formed  the  study  of  nearly 
all  the  best  writers  in  English,  and  with  the  knowledge  of 
it  we  shall  better  understand  their  works.  4.  All  its  forms 
of  speech  and  idioms  are  extremely  unlike  those  of  our  lan- 
guage, and  we  therefore  get  from  it  a  better  knowledge  of 
language  in  general.  5.  Translating  from  it  is  one  of  the 
best  and  surest  ways  of  improving  the  style.  6.  Its  study 
gives  an  admirable  discipline  to  the  faculties. 

If  he  have  not  time  to  learn  the  Latin,  I  would  advise 
him  to  learn  French.  Several  of  the  advantages  of  study- 
ing Latin  may  be  obtained  from  this  study,  though  I  think 
in  an  inferior  degree.  It  has,  however,  one  advantage  which 
the  Latin  has  not.  Books  of  great  value,  on  all  subjects, 
are  continually  making  their  appearance  in  this  language. 

That  he  may  the  more  perfectly  understand  Arithmetic, 
he  should  study  Algebra.  Some  parts  of  the  former,  the 
extraction  of  roots,  for  example,  cannot  be  easily  understood 
without,  and  it  throws  light  upon  every  part. 

He  should,  by  all  means,  study  Geometry.  This  is  an 
excellent  discipline  to  the  reasoning  powers,  and  is,  more- 
over, essential  to  an  understanding  of  the  best  treatises  in 
Natural  Philosophy  and  Astronomy.  It  is  the  foundation 
of  Trigonometry,  Surveying,  and  the  other  modes  of  meas- 
uring which  he  may  be  called  to  teach. 

Another  accomplishment  which  a  highly-qualified  teach- 
er should  have,  is  the  art  of  Drawing.  To  all  persons  who 
are  to  have  anything  to  do  with  machinery,  this  is  of  great 
importance.  It  would,  indeed,  be  highly  useful  for  eveiy 
mechanic  to  be  able  to  draw  well  enough  to  represent  all 
the  articles  which  he  may  be  called  upon  to  make.  His 
employer  often  wants  to  see  how  a  thing  will  look  before 
he  orders  it.  It  would  be  well  if  all  who  have  occasion  to 


DRAWING TEACHING.  327 

employ  mechanics  could  draw.  They  could  thus  much 
more  easily  and  perfectly  show  what  they  wanted  done. 
To  the  planners  of  houses  and  other  buildings  it  ought  to 
be  considered  essential,  and  it  is  useful  to  travellers,  to  nat- 
uralists, and  to  many  others. 

On  his  own  account  the  teacher  ought  to  be  able  to  draw. 
Every  good  teacher  must  use  the  black-board ;  and  the 
more  readily  and  skilfully  he  can  draw  upon  it,  the  more 
frequently  and  successfully  will  he  employ  it. 

Drawing  should  be  communicated  to  females  as  a  re- 
source. What  a  pleasure  is  it  to  a  benevolent  lady  to  be 
able  to  carry  home  to  her  friends  delineations  of  the  beau- 
tiful prospects  or  remarkable  objects  she  meets  with  on  her 
travels !  There  are,  moreover,  a  thousand  solitary  hours  in 
the  life  of  almost  every  female,  which  may  be  made  pleas- 
ant by  this  art,  and  which  would  be  monotonous  or  sad  with- 
out. A  highly-accomplished  lady,  whose  excellent  educa- 
tion had  given  her  many  resources,  who  was  well  read  in 
English  literature,  and  familiar  with  several  other  lan- 
guages, has  often  told  me  that,  of  all  her  acquisitions,  she 
valued  none  so  highly  as  her  power  of  drawing,  on  account 
of  the  resources  it  had  given  in  the  many  solitary  hours  of 
a  life,  some  portions  of  which  had  been  passed  in  the  se- 
clusion of  the  country. 

Another  study  is  the  Art  of  Teaching.  On  this  subject 
he  should  be  well  read.  There  are  several  valuable  books, 
written  in  this  country,  from  which  he  may  obtain  very  im- 
portant aids. 

"  The  Teacher,"  by  Jacob  Abbott,  is  full  of  ingenious  de- 
vices, some  of  which  are  described  in  this  volume,  for  ac- 
complishing his  objects  in  school,  and  especially  for  obtain- 
ing an  influence  over  pupils.  For  its  moral  tone,  this  book 
is  also  of  great  value. 

"  Hall's  Lectures"  is  a  valuable  book,  made  by  a  man  of 
a  great  deal  of  experience. 


328  HIGHER    STUDIES. 

"  Hall's  Lectures  to  Female  Teachers"  is  a  small  but 
excellent  work,  addressed  particularly  to  the  teachers  of 
primary  schools. 

The  "  Teacher  Taught,"  by  Emerson  Davis,  contains,  in 
a  small  compass,  useful  practical  directions  for  the  manage- 
ment of  a  common  school. 

"  The  Teacher's  Manual,"  by  Thomas  H.  Palmer,  ob- 
tained the  prize  offered  by  the  American  Institute  of  In- 
struction. It  contains  most  valuable  suggestions  in  regard 
to  every  part  of  a  teacher's  duty,  and  much  important  in- 
formation, particularly  in  reference  to  teaching  Arithmetic 
and  Morality. 

"Suggestions  on  Education,"  by  Catharine  E.  Beecher, 
are  admirable,  especially  in  regard  to  the  education  of  fe- 
males. The  shortness  of  the  work  is  almost  its  only  fault. 

Still  more  is  to  be  done  by  reflection.  Every  school  is 
somewhat  different  from  every  other ;  and  it  is  only  by  think- 
ing much  upon  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  a  school,  and 
the  individuals  of  which  it  is  composed,  that  the  best  modes 
for  its  government  and  instruction  can  be  devised.  Still  a 
teacher  may  be  prepared  for  its  duties  by  a  previous  knowl- 
edge of  the  regulations  observed  in  other  schools,  and  ne- 
cessary in  all. 

In  connexion  with  the  study  of  the  Art  of  Teaching,  the 
study  of  the  Philosophy  of  the  Human  Mind  should  com- 
mand the  attention  of  the  teacher.  This  great  subject  has 
occupied  some  of  the  profoundest  thinkers  that  have  lived, 
men  who  have  been  the  pioneers  of  human  improvement, 
whose  far-reaching  eye  has  penetrated  into  futurity,  and  de- 
tected in  its  germe  what  would  lead  to  the  advancement  of 
the  race.  They,  more  than  any  other  class  of  men,  have  at 
all  times  drawn  public  attention  to  education  in  its  various 
aspects.  No  well-read  teacher  should  be  ignorant  of  their 
writings. 


POWER    OP    A    TEACHER.  329 


CHAPTER  V. 

ADVANTAGES   OF  A  TEACHER'S  LIFE. 

"  Turn  your  steps 

Wherever  fancy  leads,  by  day,  by  night— 
You  walk,  you  live,  you  speculate 
With  no  incurious  eye  ;  and  books  are  yours, 
Within  whose  silent  chambers  treasure  lies, 
Preserved  from  age  to  age  ;  more  precious  far 
Than  that  accumulated  store  of  gold 
And  orient  gems,  which,  for  a  day  of  need, 
The  sultan  hides  within  ancestral  tombs. 
And  music  waits  upon  your  skilful  touch. 

Furnished  thus, 
How  can  you  droop,  if  willing  to  be  raised?' 

WORDSWORTH. 

SUCH  are  some  of  the  endowments  and  some  of  the  acqui- 
sitions which  are  necessary  for  distinguished  usefulness  as 
a  teacher.  If  fully  possessed,  they  will  raise  a  man  far 
above  the  level,  as  to  intellect  and  acquirement,  of  com- 
mon society.  Yet  all  are  but  too  little  to  enable  you  to 
do  the  good  which  may  be  done  in  the  situation  you  are 
going  to  occupy.  Still,  some  of  you,  regarding  the  low 
estimation  in  which  the  office  is  sometimes  held,  may  be 
tempted  to  say,  With  these  gifts  and  this  education,  with 
talents  whereby  I  might  distinguish  myself  before  the  world, 
shall  I  sacrifice  myself  in  the  seclusion  of  a  schoolroom? 
If  you  have  the  poor  ambition  which  makes  you  sigh  for 
ephemeral  distinction,  go ;  there  is  no  place  for  you  within 
these  quiet  walls.  But  if  you  have  something  of  that  lofty 
spirit  of  devotion  to  duty,  which  led  the  poet  Wolfe,  with 
talents  which  could  excite  the  envy  of  Byron,  to  bury  himself 
in  a  remote  and  unknown  parish,  dare  to  live  for  others  and 
for  your  own  best  good.  Be  ambitious  of  the  power  of  being 


330  HIGHER    STUDIES. 

useful.  Where  will  you  have  so  much,  or  of  so  high  a  kind, 
as  here  ?  Where  else  can  you  do  so  much  ?  The  school  is 
the  great  reforming  and  regenerating  instrument.  How  many 
of  the  hopes  of  the  improvement  of  the  race  cluster  about  it ! 
You  are  surrounded  by  innocent  childhood  and  generous 
youth,  the  hope  of  your  native  country,  full  of  gentleness, 
docility,  intelligence,  uncorrupted  by  the  world,  open  to  all 
good  thoughts  and  noble  sentiments,  full  of  warm  affections, 
eager  for  improvement,  burning  with  desires  for  excellence. 
To-day  they  are  children,  to-morrow  they  will  be  men  and 
women,  the  fathers  and  mothers  of  the  land.  They  crowd 
around  you,  waiting  to  receive  the  impress  which  your 
character  shall  give  them. 

The  fair-haired  girl  before  you  may  be  the  future  mother 
of  a  Washington  or  a  Marshall.  By  inspiring  her  heart 
with  the  highest  principles,  you  will  do  something  to  ad- 
vance humanity  by  forming  a  sublime  specimen  of  a  just 
man,  a  sage,  and  pure  expounder  of  the  great  principles  of 
law. 

These  boys  are  soon  to  fill  the  halls  of  legislation,  the 
schools  of  philosophy,  the  ranks  of  literature,  the  work- 
shops, the  fields,  the  marts  of  trade,  the  pulpit,  the  desk 
of  the  editor,  the  chair  of  the  teacher.  Inspire  them  with 
a  high  sense  of  justice,  and  you  will  elevate  jurisprudence 
and  humanize  the  laws.  Imbue  them  with  a  deep  rever- 
ence for  goodness,  for  the  moral  laws  of  God,  and  you  raise 
the  tone  of  society,  and  do  something  to  purify  the  foun- 
tains of  instruction.  Give  them  a  knowledge  of  the  laws 
of  physical  nature,  and  you  do  much  to  improve  agriculture 
and  the  useful  arts.  There  is  not  a  calling,  however  high 
and  glorious,  which  some  one  of  your  pupils  may  not  fill. 
If  you  have  genius  enough  to  enkindle  his  ;  if  you  have 
knowledge  enough  to  give  a  right  direction  to  his  thoughts  ; 
if  you  have  nobleness  enough  to  give  a  higher  aim  to  liis 
young  aspirations  for  excellence,  you  will  have  no  mean 


ADVANTAGES    OF   A   TEACHER*S   LIFE.  331 

agency  in  elevating  the  character  of  your  country  and  man- 
kind. Is  not  this  enough  for  your  ambition  ?  What  under 
heaven  would  you  have  higher  ? 

The  career  of  the  teacher  does  not,  it  is  true,  lead  to  dis- 
tinction or  to  wealth.  It  is  not  brilliant ;  but  it  leads  to 
something  better  than  distinction — to  the  heartfelt  honour 
and  affectionate  respect  of  those  who  feel  that  they  have 
been  made  wiser  and  better  by  its  influence.  Few  men  in 
their  old  age  are  looked  upon  with  such  reverential  regard 
as  faithful  and  intelligent  teachers.  I  often  converse  with  a 
gray-haired  man,  who  had  the  good  fortune  to  receive,  when 
quite  a  child,  instruction  from  a  man  of  learning,  and  pol- 
ished manners,  and  noble  character ;  and,  though  he  has 
been  much  in  society,  and  seen  familiarly  all  the  most  dis- 
tinguished men  of  his  day,  he  still  looks  back  upon  good 
master  Pemberton  as  the  model  of  an  accomplished  scholar 
and  a  finished  gentleman ;  and  there  is  no  one  whom  he 
holds  in  higher  respect  than  he  cherishes  for  the  memory 
of  this  venerable  man.  Would  not  such  a  remembrance  be 
a  higher  and  more  enduring  reward  than  the  remembrance 
of  popular  favour  ?* 

The  life  of  a  teacher  has  the  advantage  of  perfect  regu- 
larity. He  has  what  most  men  in  other  occupations  often 
sigh  for,  the  entire  disposal  of  his  leisure  hours.  In  nearly 
all  places,  the  time  spent  in  school  is  by  custom  limited  to 
six  or  seven  hours  a  day  for  four  days  of  the  week,  and 
three  or  four  for  two  other  days.  It  never  should  be  more 

*  "  As  time  advances,  and  a  new  generation  of  well-educated  men 
and  women  grows  up,  ....  who  have  had  no  other  association  with 
their  teacher  but  of  the  most  able,  wise,  accomplished,  and  amiable 
man  of  their  acquaintance,  in  whose  society  they  have  experienced 
only  delight,  and  the  chief  delight  of  their  lives,  there  will  be  less 
and  less  dependance  on  mere  endowment,  badges  of  honour,  or  ex- 
amples of  fashion,  for  securing  to  the  educator  that  high  place  in 
public  estimation  which  it  will  then  be  morally  impossible  to  with- 
hold from  him." — SIMPSON. 


332  HIGHER    STUDIES. 

than  this.  The  health  of  the  teacher  and  the  welfare  of  the 
taught  settle  this  limit.  How  many  hours  does  this  ar- 
rangement leave  to  the  teacher  to  be  employed  as  he  pleas- 
es ;  how  many  pleasures  it  puts  within  his  reach.  If  he 
be  in  the  country,  a  few  acres  of  land,  or  even  a  large  gar- 
den, will  give  the  recreation  and  exercise  he  needs,  and, 
besides  more  substantial  returns,  will,  if  situated  near  the 
schoolhouse,  give  means  for  experiments,  and  lessons  in 
horticulture,  and  the  management  of  trees  and  fruits,  a  de- 
sirable addition  to  the  course  of  instruction  in  the  country 
towns.  If  he  be  also  a  botanist,  he  may  transplant  from  the 
neighbouring  fields  and  woods  the  plants  in  which  he  feels 
an  interest,  and  enjoy  the  great  satisfaction  of  studying  their 
habits  while  he  trains  them  with  his  own  hand.  Without 
extraordinary  exertion  or  going  to  any  expense,  he  might, 
in  a  few  years,  form  about  him,  of  our  American  wild  flow- 
ers, the  very  flowers  which  are  the  pride  of  the  gardens  of 
the  English  and  French — the  most  beautiful  that  grow  in 
any  temperate  climate — a  collection  which  would  be  worth 
a  visit  from  a  prince. 

If  he  have  a  taste  for  Experimental  Philosophy,  he  may, 
by  means  of  a  few  instruments,  a  thermometer,  barometer, 
and  magnetical  needles,  at  the  expense  of  a  few  minutes  de- 
voted to  observations  daily,  keep  himself  familiar  with  some 
of  those  great  investigations  of  the  laws  of  nature  which  are 
commanding  the  attention  of  the  philosophical  world  ;  or  he 
may  combine  with  his  walks  interesting  inquiries  in  Geolo- 
gy and  Mineralogy ;  or  form  an  acquaintance  with  the  in- 
sects, the  fishes,  the  shells,  or  the  birds.  Charming  pur- 
suits, enough  to  make  the  path  of  life  pleasant  and  smooth, 
if  it  were  roughened  by  many  more  asperities  than  are  found 
on  the  way  of  the  generous  and  faithful  teacher.  It  is  too 
late  a  day  for  the  ignorant  and  frivolous  to  sneer  at  these  de- 
lightful studies.  Many  a  noble  in  the  Old  World  values  his 
princely  fortune — many  a  retired  gentleman  values  his  com- 


ADVANTAGES    OF    A    TEACHER  S    LIFE.  333 

petency,  chiefly  because  it  leaves  him  at  liberty  to  devote 
his  life  to  them.  Thanks  to  God,  his  worshippers,  and  the 
votaries  of  the  sciences  that  investigate  his  works,  are  be- 
come too  numerous  and  too  respectable  for  any  of  their 
number  to  suffer  from  scorn  because  he  devotes  himself 
to  these  elevating  and  dignified  pursuits.  The  Newtons 
and  Galileos,  the  Linnaeuses  and  Cuviers,  the  Decandolles 
and  Bowditches,  are  too  large  and  mighty  a  band  for  one  of 
their  followers  and  associates,  be  he  even  no  more  than 
a  village  schoolmaster,  to  feel  anything  but  an  honest  pride 
at  being  of  the  number. 

Or,  if  he  have  no  taste  for  any  of  the  departments  of  Nat- 
ural Science,  he  may  still,  if  he  have  a  love  for  reading, 
command  resources  which  leave  him  little  to  desire,  nothino- 

7  O 

certainly  to  envy,  in  the  lot  of  any  other  man.  Books,  the 
best  books  that  have  been  ever  written,  are  so  cheap  that  he 
must  be  very  poor  not  to  be  able  to  surround  himself  with 
enough  to  occupy  all  his  leisure.  And  in  so  doing,  he  ex- 
ercises a  power  to  which  the  fabled  virtue  of  Aladdin's 
lamp  made  but  a  faint  and  distant  approach.  At  his  will, 
he  summons  about  him  the  spirits  of  the  wise  and  eloquent 
among  the  living  and  the  dead.  They  come  and  sit  down  by 
his  fireside,  wait  his  questionings,  and  depart  at  his  bidding ; 
the  poets,  Halleck,  Bryant  with  his  wood-notes,  the  Danas, 
with  Southey,  Coleridge,  Wordsworth,  and  Campbell,  from 
the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic  ;  the  historians,  Bancroft,  Pres- 
cott,  Irving,  Sparks,  with  Hallam,  Turner,  Mackintosh,  and 
their  brethren ;  the  philosophers,  Herschel,  Arnott,  Lyell ; 
the  naturalists,  Audubon  and  Gray,  with  Wilson,  and  Hook- 
er, and  troops  of  others  not  less  illustrious.  And  across  the 
dark  and  wide  ocean  of  time  will  come  the  sage,  the  gifted 
seer,  the  inspired  prophet,  and  unfold  the  picture  of  times 
and  men  long  past,  and  thoughts  that  can  never  pass  away ; 
the  poet  of  the  human  heart,  from  the  banks  of  Avon  ; 
the  poet  of  Paradise,  from  his  small  garden-house  in  West- 


334  HIGHER    STUDIES. 

minster ;  Burns,  from  his  cottage  on  the  Ayr ;  and  Scott, 
from  his  dwelling  by  the  Tweed ;  and  the  blind  old  man 
of  Scio,  still  blind  but  still  eloquent,  will  sit  down  with 
him,  and  as  he  sang  almost  thirty  centuries  ago  among 
the  isles  of  Greece,  sing  the  war  of  Troy  or  the  wander- 
ings of  Ulysses.*  Skill  in  music,  with  the  little  choir 
of  his  own  pupils  that  he  might  always  assemble  about 
him,  and  who,  as  they  passed  from  his  tutelage,  would  not 
all  break  the  tie  which  unites  those  who  love  the  tuneful 
art,  would  be  an  added  resource,  and,  with  a  talent  for  draw- 
ing, would  make  his  habitation  a  point  of  attraction — a  radi- 
ant centre  of  light  and  refinement. 

May  not  a  man  be  contented  with  his  lot,  who,  after  a  few 
busy  hours  of  useful  labour,  may  spend  his  evenings  in  com- 
pany and  occupations  such  as  these  ? 

It  may  be  considered  a  fortunate  circumstance  in  an  in- 
dividual's life  that  he  can  make  his  duties  and  his  pleas- 
ures one.  This  is  your  case. 

You  may  have  the  satisfaction  of  thinking  that,  while  in- 
dulging in  these  luxuries,  you  are,  at  the  same  time,  prepa- 
ring yourself  for  a  better  performance  of  your  duties.  To 
the  purposes  of  the  teacher  no  kind  of  knowledge  comes 
amiss.  He  may  find  useful  facts  and  apt  illustrations  in  all 
sorts  of  books  and  in  every  variety  of  investigation  ;  and, 
however  highly  he  may  be  able  to  cultivate  himself,  he  may 
be  sure  that  his  cultivation  will  not  be  merely  selfish.  In 
the  school,  the  humblest  intellect,  with  moderate  attain- 
ments, with  right  views  and  earnest  purposes,  may  do  some- 
thing ;  while  the  genius  of  an  angel,  united  with  all  knowl- 
edge, all  accomplishment,  and  all  excellence,  would  not  be 

*  Just  as  he  was  writing  this,  the  author  had  occasion  to  address 
an  audience  at  a  school  celebration.  Having  little  tune  for  prepara- 
tion, he,  almost  in  spite  of  himself,  enlarged  upon  the  thoughts  above 
expressed.  The  reported  address  may  possibly  reach  the  eye  of 
some  who  read  this. 


ADVANTAGES    OF    A    TEACHER'S    LIFE.  335 

lost,  but  would  find  their  true  place  and  highest  exercise, 
and,  instead  of  being  wasted  in  the  poor  office  of  advancing 
their  possessor,  would  warm  hosts  of  others  with  the  love 
of  knowledge,  virtue,  and  excellence. 

Another  favourable  circumstance  in  the  life  of  a  teacher 
is,  that  he  is  not  subject  to  anxieties  about  the  fluctuations 
of  trade,  like  the  merchant ;  the  variations  of  a  distant  mar- 
ket, like  the  manufacturer ;  of  the  home  market,  like  the 
mechanic  ;  the  vicissitudes  of  storms,  like  the  mariner ;  or 
of  weather  and  the  seasons,  like  the  farmer.  He  will  sym- 
pathize with  his  neighbours  in  sufferings  produced  by  these 
causes,  but  will  not  feel  that  personal  solicitude  which  he 
has  who  realizes  that  events  are  likely  to  happen  which  his 
sagacity  ought  to  have  foreseen  and  his  forecast  to  have 
provided  against,  and  which,  if  not  foreseen  and  provided 
for,  may  bring  upon  him  inevitable  ruin. 

Such  are  some  of  the  advantages  which  belong  to  the  po- 
sition of  a  teacher.  If,  with  suitable  character  and  talents, 
you  devote  yourself  for  life  to  the  work,  you  may  be  able  to 
realize  them  all,  or,  at  least,  so  many  of  them  as  you  prefer. 
Most  of  you  will  teach  but  a  portion  of  each  year,  and  that, 
perhaps,  for  only  a  few  years.  Yet  you  may,  if  you  please, 
during  the  time  you  are  so  employed,  enjoy,  at  least  in  a  de- 
gree, the  advantages  which  I  point  out  as  belonging  to  this 
pursuit.  Faithful  to  your  charge  and  to  yourself,  you  may 
look  back  upon  the  time  so  spent  as  among  the  most  profita- 
ble and  happy  of  your  life.  What  though  yours  be  an 
humble  lot : 

"  The  smoke  ascends 

To  heaven  as  lightly  from  the  cottage  hearth 
As  from  the  haughtiest  palace.    He,  whose  soul 
Ponders  this  true  equality,  may  walk 
The  fields  of  earth  with  gratitude  and  hope." 


336  DUTIES. 

BOOK    III. 

DUTIES. 

"  To  watch  over  the  associations  which  they  form  in  infancy ;  to 
give  them  early  habits  of  mental  activity ;  to  rouse  their  curiosity, 
and  direct  it  to  proper  objects ;  to  exercise  their  ingenuity  and  in- 
vention ;  to  cultivate  in  their  minds  a  turn  for  speculation,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  preserve  their  attention  alive  to  the  objects  around 
them ;  to  awaken  their  sensibilities  to  the  beauties  of  nature,  and  to 
inspire  them  with  a  relish  for  intellectual  enjoyment, — these  form 
but  a  part  of  the  business  of  education." — STEWART. 

THE  duties  of  a  teacher  are  fourfold : 

I.  To  himself,  the  duty  of  self-culture,  inasmuch  as  he 
is  to  teach  by  the  influence  of  his  character  and  example,  as 
well  as  by  giving  direct  instruction  : 

II.  To  his  pupils,  as  he  is  bound, 

1.  To  furnish  them  with  the  means  of  acquiring  knowl- 
edge ; 

2.  To  contribute  to  the  formation  of  their  moral  char- 
acter ; 

3.  To  assist  them  in  developing  their  various  faculties, 
that  they  may  have  a  healthy  mind  in  a  healthy  body  ; 

4.  To  give  them  knowledge,  which  shall  prepare  them 
for  the  proper  discharge  of  all  their  duties  in  life  : 

III.  To  his  fellow-teachers,  as  bound  to  elevate  the  call- 
ing in  which  he  is  engaged,  and  increase  its  usefulness  : 

IV.  To  the  parents  of  his  pupils,  and  to  the  community 
in  which  he  lives. 

These  duties  are  intimately  related,  yet  it  will  be  con- 
venient to  treat  of  them  in  separate  chapters,  as  thereby  we 
may  obtain  clearer  views  of  them. 

In  this  book  a  plan  of  duties  will  be  sketched,  to  the  entire 
performance  of  which  few,  perhaps,  will  be  able  fully  to  at- 
tain. But  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  it  is  only  by  setting 
our  standard  high  that  we  shall  accomplish  the  utmost  in 
our  power. 


INFLUENCE    OF    A    TEACHER. 


CHAPTER  I. 

A  TEACHER'S  PERSONAL  DUTIES. 

"  The  mind,  impressible  and  soft,  with  ease 
Imbibes  and  copies  what  she  hears  and  sees, 
And  through  life's  labyrinth  holds  fast  the  clew 
That  education  gives  her,  false  or  true." 

COWPER.      .». 

"Yes,  it  is  a  grave  responsibility  which  rests  upon  you.  The 
great  majority  of  the  population  of  nations  is  confided  to  your  direc- 
tion. They  become  what  you  make  of  them.  First  impressions  are 
all-powerful ;  they  contain  the  germes  of  all  virtues  and  of  all  vices." 
— IS Instituteur  Primaire. 

As  is  the  teacher,  so  is  the  school.  This  has  justly  be- 
come almost  a  proverb.  It  recognises  the  great  influence 
of  a  teacher,  direct  and  indirect,  upon  the  character  and 
conduct,  and  present  and  future  welfare  of  all  who  are  in 
his  school. 

By  direct  influence  is  meant  whatever  a  teacher  exercises 
intentionally  and  expressly,  in  his  labours,  for  the  instruction 
and  improvement  of  his  school.  By  indirect  influence  is 
meant  that  which  is  exercised  by  every  other  expression  of 
his  character.  All  that  is  in  a  man  speaks  out  in  the  tone  of 
his  voice,  in  his  manners,  his  looks,  his  deportment.  It  often 
speaks  more  decidedly,  and  makes  a  deeper  impression,  than 
the  words  which  he  utters.  Energy  of  character,  for  exam- 
ple, shows  itself  by  marks  not  easily  to  be  mistaken.  It 
controls  the  eye,  the  voice,  the  step,  every  motion.  It 
makes  itself  felt.  It  is  the  life  of  a  school.  In  like  man- 
ner, gentleness,  which,  in  a  well-balanced  character,  should 
always  be  combined  with  it,  speaks  in  a  language  no  less 
significant  and  intelligible.  It  diffuses  an  inexpressible 
FF 


338  DUTIES. 

charm  over  the  whole  conduct,  and  attracts  to  an  imitation 
of  itself.  The  combination  of  these,  energy  of  action  and 
gentleness  in  the  mode  of  action,  is  most  desirable  in  the 
character  of  a  teacher.  Both  are  insensibly,  but  rapidly, 
communicated  to  a  school ;  so  that  a  stranger,  on  going  into 
one,  would  very  soon  discover,  by  the  spirit  of  activity  or 
of  sluggishness,  of  good  manners  or  of  clownishness,  which 
prevailed  ;  whether  it  were  under  the  direction  of  a  person 
of  energy  and  a  gentleman,  or  a  sluggard  and  a  clown. 
Both  these  qualities  are  capable  of  being  acquired,  and  must 
be,  if  they  are  not  possessed  already.  Energy  may  be 
formed  by  a  resolute  purpose  to  do  what  we  can,  and  with 
our  might.  Gentleness  is  the  natural  effect  of  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  higher  parts  of  our  nature,  and  especially  of  ha- 
bitual self-control. 

What  is  true  of  these  is  also  true,  in  a  greater  or  less  de- 
gree, of  every  other  quality.  All  pass  from  the  teacher  into 
the  character  of  the  pupil,  and  contribute  to  form  it.  Thus 
a  spirit  of  order  diffuses  itself,  the  love  of  application,  of 
punctuality,  of  neatness,  of  labour,  a  spirit  of  courtesy,  a 
cheerful  and  contented  spirit.  This  is,  of  course,  especial- 
ly true  of  those  qualities  which  find  expression  in  language. 
Children  learn  language  by  hearing  it  spoken,  and,  with  the 
words,  they  at  the  same  time  receive  something  of  the  feel- 
ing expressed  by  the  words.  If  they  could  hear  only  pure, 
refined,  and  generous  feelings  expressed,  they  would  derive 
only  good  from  this  source.  The  teacher  should  take  care 
that,  so  far  as  relates  to  himself,  this  shall  be  the  case. 
Children,  even  more  than  men,  are  the  creatures  of  imita- 
tion. The  qualities  of  which  I  have  spoken  are  such  as  di- 
rectly affect  the  language  and  actions.  They  are,  therefore, 
objects  of  direct  imitation.  Children  are  also  creatures  of 
sympathy.  This  principle,  so  strong  in  all  human  beings, 
is  most  so  in  the  unsophisticated  heart  of  a  child.  What  I 
have  said,  therefore,  applies,  with  not  less  force,  to  those 


INFLUENCE  OF  A  TEACHER.          339 

more  inward  sentiments,  which,  we  are  apt  to  think,  are 
hidden  in  our  inmost  hearts.  Love  towards  mankind,  re- 
spect for  truth,  admiration  of  excellence,  a  sense  of  justice, 
the  sentiment  of  veneration  towards  God  and  his  laws, — all 
these  speak  in  language  often  instinctively  understood  by  a 
child.  It  is  true  that  a  person  deeply  read  in  the  arts  of  de- 
ception may  counterfeit  them  so  as  to  impose  upon  others, 
but  he  is  much  more  likely  to  impose  on  men  than  on  chil- 
dren. No  matter  what  pains  he  may  take  to  conceal  his 
real  feelings,  it  is  these  which  the  hypocrite  will  be  like- 
ly to  impress  upon  the  character  of  children.  They  will  not 
detect  his  hypocrisy,  but  they  will  be  bent  to  evil  by  his  in- 
iquity. 

It  is  not,  then,  by  our  good  qualities  alone,  of  mind  or  heart, 
that  we  influence  our  pupils.  They  are  hardly  less  prone, 
unfortunately,  to  sympathize  with  and  imitate  our  vices  than 
our  virtues.  It  is  in  vain  that  we  would  give  lessons  of  or- 
der if  our  affairs  are  in  confusion  ;  or  enforce  gentleness  in 
words  of  violence  ;  or  inculcate  the  great  lesson  of  self-con- 
trol in  tones  of  impatience  or  in  the  language  of  passion. 
Our  abstract  principles  may  be  unintelligible,  our  words  be- 
yond their  comprehension  ;  but  our  voice,  our  look,  our  man- 
ner they  will  understand  and  feel. 

These  truths  should  serve  as  a  caution  to  those  who  li- 
cense teachers,  as  well  as  to  teachers.  The  former  should 
not  introduce  into  a  school  any  person  whose  qualities  they 
are  not  willing  to  see  wrought  into  the  character  and  life 
of  the  future  man.  And  for  the  latter, 

You  must  not  carry  with  you  into  school,  principles,  feel- 
ings, motives,  or  habits,  the  seeds  of  which  you  are  not 
willing  to  sow  in  the  susceptible  heart  of  childhood. 

Take  care,  then,  what  manner  of  men  you  are  when  you 
enter  into  the  discharge  of  these  high  duties.  "  Whoso 
causeth  one  of  these  little  ones  to  offend,  it  were  better  for 
him  that  a  millstone  were  hanged  about  his  neck,  and  he 
wore  drowned  in  t-h«  depth  of  the  sei  " 


340  DUTIES. 

What  motives  are  thus  placed  before  you  to  elevate  your 
own  character  by  the  cultivation  of  everything  excellent, 
and  the  repression  of  everything  bad !  Who  can  tell  what 
power  you  may  exert,  for  good  or  for  evil,  over  the  whole 
future  existence  of  the  immortal  beings  confided  to  your 
care !  Many  of  them  will  be  committed  to  you  at  an  age 
when  their  whole  inward  nature  is  capable  of  being  mould- 
ed at  your  pleasure.  In  the  unhesitating  confidence  of 
childhood  they  will  trust  entirely  to  you.  Some  of  them 
will  look  upon  you  with  a  respect  which  they  feel  only  for 
their  parents  ;  or,  if  you  have  the  excellences  of  character 
which  you  ought  to  have,  the  learning,  taste,  eloquence,  and 
sincerity,  and  their  parents  are  the  poor,  ignorant,  besotted 
things  that  but  too  many  are,  they  will  look  upon  you  with 
a  respect  almost  unbounded  ;  they  will  learn  from  you  their 
earliest  lessons  in  truth,  justice,  and  the  fear  of  God ;  they 
will  receive  from  you  their  first  impressions  of  the  laws  of 
nature  and  the  wisdom  of  God's  providence.  It  will  depend 
on  you  whether  they  grow  up  to  virtue,  usefulness,  ^iety, 
and  happiness,  or  in  ignorance,  bitterness,  worthlessness, 
and  wretchedness.  IF  you  are  yourselves  just,  disinterest- 
ed, and  benevolent,  you  will  awaken  the  elements  of  these 
qualities  in  them ;  if  you  are  patient,  orderly,  industrious, 
so  will  they  be ;  if  your  own  heart  burns  with  reverence, 
it  will  kindle  a  flame  in  theirs. 

You  thus  see  your  duty.  It  is  to  examine  yourselves, 
and  remove  from  your  character  what  will  have  a  perni- 
cious or  a  doubtful  effect  on  theirs,  and  to  cultivate,  in  the 
highest  degree  possible,  the  noblest  of  your  faculties  and 
sentiments. 


DUTLES    OF    A    TEACHER.  341 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  TEACHER'S  DIRECT  DUTIES  TO  HIS  PUPILS.     MEANS  OF 
KNOWLEDGE. 

"  Binding  herself  by  statute  to  secure, 
For  all  the  children  whom  her  soil  maintains, 
The  rudiments  of  letters^  and  inform 
The  mind  with  moral  and  religious  truth, 
Both  understood  and  practised  ;  so  that  none, 
However  destitute,  be  left  to  droop, 
By  timely  culture  unsustained ;  or  run 
Into  a  wild  disorder  ;  or  be  forced  . 

To  drudge  through  weary  life  without  the  help 
Of  intellectual  implements  and  tools." 

WORDSWORTH. 

THE  teacher  is  bound  to  furnish,  his  pupils  with  the 
means  of  Acquiring  knowledge.  This  is  the  particular  bu- 
siness of  every  school.  Whatever  else  is  done  or  left  un- 
done, this  must  be  accomplished.  Every  common  school 
is  established  for  the  express  purpose  of  communicating  the 
arts  of  reading,  writing,  and  calculation.  These  arts  are 
not  knowledge  ;  they  are  something  better ;  they  are  the 
keys  of  knowledge.  One  of  them,  the  art  of  Reading, 
opens  the  door  to  all  the  accumulated  learning,  wisdom, 
science,  and  art  of  mankind, — the  wealth  of  all  time  locked 
up  in  books.  Writing  bestows  the  power  of  communicating 
with  all  other  persons,  distant  and  future,  as  well  as  pres- 
ent. It  opens  the  door  between  this  and  future  ages.  Cal- 
culation gives  the  means  of  doing  perfect  justice  to  our- 
selves, and  to  all  other  men  in  our  transactions  with  them. 
These,  therefore,  are  properly  considered  the  fundamental 
branches,  and  of  more  essential  importance  than  any  others. 
If  he  fail  in  them,  he  fails  altogether  of  the  purpose  for 
which  he  entered  school. 

F  F  2 


312  DUTIES. 

"  It  is  the  duty,  therefore,  of  every  teacher,  who  com- 
mences a  common  district  school  for  a  single  season,  to 
make,  when  he  commences,  an  estimate  of  the  state  of  his 
pupils  in  reference  to  these  three  branches.  How  do  they 
all  write  ?  How  do  they  all  read  ?  How  do  they  calcu- 
late 1  It  would  be  well  if  he  would  make  a  careful  exam- 
ination of  the  school  in  this  respect.  Let  them  all  write  a 
specimen.  Let  all  read,  and  let  him  make  a  memorandum 
of  the  manner,  noticing  how  many  read  fluently,  how  many 
with  difficulty,  how  many  know  only  their  letters,  and  how 
many  are  to  be  taught  these.  Let  him  ascertain,  also,  what 
progress  they  have  made  in  Arithmetic  ;  how  many  can 
readily  perform  the  elementary  processes,  and  what  number 
need  instruction  in  these.  After  thus  surveying  the  ground, 
let  him  form  his  plan,  and  lay  out  his  whole  strength  in 
carrying  forward,  as  rapidly  as  possible,  the  whole  school  in 
these  studies.  By  this  means  he  is  acting,  most  directly 
and  powerfully,  on  the  intelligence  of  the  whole  future  com- 
munity in  that  place.  He  is  opening  to  fifty  or  a  hundred 
minds  stores  of  knowledge,  which  they  will  go  on  explo- 
ring for  years  to  come."* 

Grammar  should  be  considered  subsidiary  to  reading  and 
writing.  Its  great  use  is  to  enable  the  pupil  more  perfectly 
to  understand  what  he  reads,  and  more  correctly  and  dis- 
tinctly to  express  what  he  writes.  It  is  extremely  difficult 
to  make  a  very  good  reader  without  showing  him  the  de- 
pendance  of  the  parts  of  a  sentence  on  each  other,  which 
belongs  to  Grammar.  Properly  taught,  it  may  be  also  made 
a  most  valuable  means  of  exercising  some  of  the  powers  of 
the  mind  at  every  stage  of  the  child's  progress.  It  should 
be  thoroughly  understood  by  the  teacher. 

Connected  with  writing  is  Drawing.  It  should  be  taught 
when  it  can.  It  will  be  a  valuable  exercise  in  trainiag  the 
eye  and  the  hand.  Both  may,  by  means  of  it,  be  trained  to 
*  The  Teacher,  p.  65,  66. 


FORMATION    OF    HABITS.  343 

great  accuracy  of  perception  and  execution.  It  may  also 
be  oftentimes  of  use  in  furnishing  employment  to  such  pu- 
pils as  have  nothing  else  to  do.  I  will  not  speak  of  it  as  an 
essential  qualification  in  a  teacher,  but  as  a  most  desirable 
acquisition,  which  he  should  make  if  it  is  in  his  power. 

The  third  important  art  to  be  communicated  is  Arithme- 
tic, connected  with  which  should  always  be  something  of 
book-keeping. 

Of  all  these  I  shall  speak  more  at  large  hereafter. 


CHAPTER  III. 

DIRECT    DUTIES.       FORMATION    OF    MORAL    HABITS. 

"  To  instruct  youth  in  the  languages  and  in  the  sciences  is  com- 
paratively of  little  importance,  if  we  are  inattentive  to  the  habits 
they  acquire,  and  are  not  careful  in  giving  to  all  their  different  fac- 
ulties and  all  their  different  principles  of  action  a  proper  degree  of 
employment. ' ' — STE  WAR  r. 

A  TEACHER  should  do  what  he  can  to  form  the  moral 
character  of  his  pupils.  I  have  spoken  of  his  indirect  in- 
fluence in  this  respect.  That  will  chiefly  aifect  their  feel- 
ings, by  giving  them  the  love  of  excellence.  I  am  now  to 
speak  of  what  he  is  to  endeavour  to  do  to  form  their  habits 
of  right  action. 

The  great  object  to  be  kept  always  in  view  is  to  estab- 
lish the  dominion  of  conscience,  to  make  it  quick  and  act- 
ive, and  to  connect  with  its  action  the  formation  of  habit. 
We  speak  of  conscience  and  habit  separately,  but  they 
should,  as  far  as  possible,  be  constantly  and  inseparably*  as- 
sociated. 

Conscience  is  that  power  within  us  which  approves  of 
what  is  thought  to  be  right,  and  disapproves  of  what  is 
thought  to  be  wrong.  Beginning  to  act  in  infancy,  as  soon 


344  DUTIES. 

as  a  child  is  capable  of  the  ideas  of  right  and  wrong,  at 
first,  like  all  the  other  faculties  at  their  earliest  dawn,  its 
action  is  obscure,  and  its  decisions  indistinct.  Like  every 
other  faculty,  it  is  improved  by  exercise,  and  weakened  by 
inaction.  It  should  be  enlightened  by  reflection  upon 
those  relations  to  God  and  man  from  which  duties  spring', 
by  the  truths  revealed  in  the  Scriptures,  and  by  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  laws  of  our  nature,  and  of  the  creation  in  which 
we  are  placed.  The  enlightened  conscience  should  be 
constantly  exercised,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  life. 
In  this  way  only  does  it  become,  what  it  is  doubtless  in- 
tended by  our  Maker  to  be,  the  supreme  and  controlling 
power.  It  is  exercised  by  deliberately  asking,  in  regard  to 
every  action  which  is  presented,  "  Is  this  right  or  wrong  ?" 
And  in  this  way  only  will  be  established  the  most  impor- 
tant of  all  habits,  that  of  acting  conscientiously. 

The  habits  over  which  the  teacher  has  most  control,  and 
which  he  may  do  much  to  form  in  his  pupils,  are  ; 

The  habits  of  punctuality  and  regularity  ;  of  diligence  and 
love  of  labour ;  of  economy ;  of  perseverance ;  of  fore- 
thought ; 

Of  kindness  and  courtesy  ;  of  mercy  to  inferior  animals  ; 
of  forgiveness  of  injuries  ;  of  charitableness  ; 

Of  justice  and  respect  for  property  ;  of  respect  for  supe- 
riors ;  of  submission  to  the  authority  of  laws  ;  of  truth  ;  of 
reverence  for  God,  and  obedience  to  his  laws. 

I  shall  endeavour  to  show  very  concisely,  otherwise 
these  remarks  would  become  a  volume  of  sermons,  how 
the  duties  on  which  each  of  these  rests  may  be  explained 
and  enforced,  and  how  the  habit  may  be  formed.  In  re- 
gard to  all  of  them,  it  should,  however,  be  said,  that  there 
are  individuals  in  whom  it  is  nearly  impossible  for  them  to 
be  formed.  We  must  not,  on  that  account,  be  discouraged. 
Our  efforts  may,  and  will,  be  successful  in  reference  to  the 
great  majority.  Let  us  not  be  disheartened  that  we  cannot 
do  all  things. 


FORMATION    OF    HABITS.  345 

The  habit  of  punctuality  at  school  will  be  strengthened 
by  everything  which  makes  school  pleasant.  If  a  story  is 
told  at  the  morning  hour,  which  the  children  like  to  hear, 
they  will  be  induced  to  exert  themselves  to  be  present.  If 
a  song  or  a  hymn  is  sung,  some  laggard  will  be  led  to  come 
early  to  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  joining  in  it.  Kind  com- 
mendation of  those  who  are  punctual,  and  kind  expostula- 
tion with  the  tardy,  will  have  their  effect.  Appeal  to  the 
example  of  good  men.  General  Washington  was  always 
punctual,  and  required  others  to  be  so.  Explain  to  a  child 
that,  by  being  tardy,  he  loses  time  which  he  cannot  recall, 
disappoints  his  friends  of  the  improvement  he  ought  to 
make,  and,  what  he  has  no  right  to  do,  sacrifices  the  time 
of  others  as  well  as  his  own. 

The  habit  of  Regularity  is  formed  by  the  natural  action 
of  a  good  system.  This  depends  on  yourself.  A  child 
who  has  long  been  in  the  habit  of  doing  things  in  a  settled 
order,  will  feel  the  pleasantness  and  advantage  of  the  course, 
and  will  be  likely  to  adhere  to  it. 

Love  of  Labour  and  Diligence. — Whatever  makes  labour 
or  study  pleasant  will  lead  to  this  habit.  The  studies  must 
be  adapted  to  the  capacity ;  they  must  be  made  clear  and 
practicable,  but  not  too  easy.  It  is  altogether  false  that 
children  are  naturally  indolent.  On  the  contrary,  they  are 
naturally  active,  and  fond  of  exercising  their  faculties  ;  and 
if  we  can  find  out  how  to  lead  them  to  exercise  their  minds 
upon  appropriate  objects,  such  as  are  suited  to  their  state 
and  strength,  we  shall  easily  form  this  habit.  Indeed,  our 
principal  care  is  to  see  that  we  do  not  break  this  natural 
habit  by  absurd  and  unreasonable  regulations. 

Economy  may  be  enforced  by  requiring  children  to  be 
careful  of  their  books  and  other  articles  of  property,  and  by 
explaining,  to  them  the  folly  and  wickedness  of  waste,  in 
that  it  diminishes  their  power  of  doing  good  to  those  in 
want.  It  would  be  well  to  make  economy  the  subject  occa- 
sionally of  remarks  to  the  school,  laying  down  and  proving 


316  DUTIES. 

the  principle  that  no  one  ought,  in  any  case,  to  spend  more 
than  his  income  ;  and  stating  the  pernicious  consequences 
of  borrowing,  and  then  living  on  the  property  of  others. 

Forethought  may  be  taught  by  our  regulations.  At  the 
time  of  an  exercise  which  is  assigned  beforehand,  every  pu- 
pil should  be  required  to  be  prepared  or  to  lose  the  lesson, 
or  something  else  which  he  values.  This  is  the  natural  pen- 
alty for  want  of  forethought.  Let  us  take  care  that  we  do 
not  prevent  its  action  by  our  own  mistaken  kindness.  But 
remember  that  much  forethought  is  not  to  be  expected  in  a 
child. 

Perseverance  may  also  be  taught  by  adherence  to  a  good 
system.  A  child  who,  every  day,  at  a  certain  hour,  is  call- 
ed upon  to  perform  a  certain  exercise,  who  is  encouraged 
to  do  more  and  more  without  aid,  and  who,  by  our  system, 
is  led  to  persevere  in  it  regularly  for  months  together,  and 
then  is  led  to  look  back  and  see  how  much  he  has  accom- 
plished, has  taken  a  lesson  in  perseverance  and  regularity 
which  he  cannot  soon  forget. 

The  law  of  Kindness  is  best  taught  in  the  language  of 
our  Saviour.  His  commands  on  the  subject  should  be  oft- 
en read,  and  explained  or  enforced.  Active  kindness,  doing 
good,  is  taught  by  his  whole  life  and  death  more  powerfully 
than  it  was  ever  taught  before  or  since  his  time.  The 
Christian  law  of  love  should  be  written  on  the  heart  of  ev- 
ery follower  of  Christ, — should  be  often  repeated  and  con* 
stantly  appealed  to.  If  you  are  not  a  follower  of  Jesus,  still, 
if  you  will  examine  the  records  of  his  instruction,  you  will, 
if  there  is  a  strong  feeling  of  humanity  in  your  heart,  be 
willing  to  admit  that  his  great  doctrine  of  peace  on  earth 
and  good-will  to  all  mankind  is  worthy  of  being  divine,  and 
that  on  this  point,  if  on  no  other,  no  man  ever  spake  like 
him.  If  you  will  calmly  and  impartially  examine  this  ques- 
tion, you  will  probably  be  inclined  to  agree  with  Lord  Bacon, 
in  thinking  "  that  there  never  was  found,  in  any  age  of  the 
world,  either  religion,  or  law,  or  discipline  that  did  so  high- 


FORMATION    OF    HABITS.  347 

ly  exalt  the  public  good  as  the  Christian  faith."  The  feel- 
ing and  the  practice  of  kindness  are  to  be  taught,  also,  by 
example.  This  is  intelligible  when  words  are  not.  Cour- 
tesy is  the  natural  fruit  of  the  principle  of  kindness.  It 
needs  no  great  eloquence  or  acuteness  to  show  that  what- 
ever is  rude,  harsh,  unfeeling,  or  discourteous,  is  no  less  of- 
fensive to  Christian  feelings  or  principles  than  it  is  unbe- 
coming the  character  and  manners  of  a  gentleman. 

Every  act  observed  in  school,  which  is  a  violation  of 
courtesy  or  kindness,  should  be  remarked  upon  to  the  of- 
fending individual,  not  openly,  unless  it  be  very  public  and 
offensive,  but  privately,  and  in  the  kindest  manner  possible. 
Nothing  can  be  more  absurdly  inconsistent  than  to  reprove 
a  violation  of  this  virtue  in  unkind  and  discourteous  lan- 
guage. It  not  only  fails  of  its  effect,  but  it  gives  an  exam- 
ple of  the  opposite  vice.  An  excellent  and  practicable 
mode  of  forming  the  habit  of  kindness  is  to  place  one  of  the 
younger  children  in  school  under  the  particular  charge  of 
one  of  the  older.  They  are  to  sit  together,  and  the  elder 
is,  in  every  way  in  his  power,  to  aid  and  encourage  the 
younger.  He  is  to  show  him  the  use  of  his  slate,  to  ex- 
plain his  difficulties,  and  stimulate  him  to  exertion.  The 
benefit  will  be  mutual,  in  so  far  as  the  studies  are  concern- 
ed ;  and  in  this  way,  each  one  of  the  more  advanced  will 
have  one  individual  on  whom  constantly  to  exercise  his 
kind  affections,  and  each  of  the  least  advanced  will  feel  that 
he  has  one  friend  in  school. 

We  should  also  take  occasion  to  excite  sympathy  for  the 
wretched.  The  following  example,  from  the  work  of  an, 
eminent  teacher,*  will  show  how  we  may  avail  ourselves 
of  such  incidents  as  occur  :  "  It  was  a  chilly  day  in  winter, 
and  we  were  seated  in  a  comfortable  schoolroom,  when  a 
man  of  wretched  appearance  was  seen  passing  by,  drawing 
a  hand-sled,  on  which  were  several  bundles  of  rags,  the 
remnants  of  worn-out  garments.  He  was  clad  in  those 
*  S.  R.  Hall,  Lectures  on  School-keeping,  p.  103,  slightly  altered. 


348  DUTIES. 

that  were  little  better,  and  was  apparently  so  weak  as  to  be 
scarcely  able  to  draw  his  sled.  Some  looked  out  of  the 
window  and  began  to  laugh.  The  instructer  told  the  school 
they  might  all  rise  and  look  at  the  wretched  man  who  was 
passing  by.  All  did  so,  and  nearly  all  were  excited  to 
laughter.  After  all  had  seen  him,  the  master  told  them 
they  might  take  their  seats,  and  then  said,  '  I  was  willing 
that  you  should  look  at  that  man,  but  possibly  my  object 
was  different  from  yours,  as  I  see  the  effect  on  your  feel- 
ings was  very  unlike  that  which  was  produced  on  mine. 
That  miserable  man,  you  perceive,  is  crazy.  His  bundles 
of  rags,  which  perhaps  he  values,  can  be  of  no  use  to  him. 
You  see  that  he  looks  pale  and  emaciated,  and  so  weak 
that  he  is  scarcely  able  to  draw  his  load.  He  is  very  poor- 
ly shielded  from  the  cold  of  winter,  and  will  probably  per- 
ish in  the  snow.  Now  tell  me,  should  this  man  excite  your 
laughter  ?  He  was  once  a  schoolboy,  as  bright  and  active 
as  any  of  you.  His  return  from  school  was  welcomed  by 
joyful  parents,  and  his  presence  gave  pleasure  to  the  youth- 
ful throng  who  met  each  other  for  merriment  in  a  \yinter 
evening.  Look  at  him  now  ;  and  can  you  sport  with  him 
who  has  lost  his  reason,  and,  in  losing  that,  has  lost  all  ? 
Should  I  point  to  one  of  you,  and  be  able,  by  looking  down 
into  future  years,  to  say  to  the  rest,  your  associate  will 
be  hereafter,  like  this  man,  a  roaming,  wretched  maniac, 
would  you  not  rather  Aveep  than  laugh  ?  You  saw  me  af- 
fected when  I  began  to  speak.  I  once  had  a  friend ;  he 
was  dear  to  me  as  a  brother  ;  he  was  everything  I  could 
wish  in  a  friend.  I  have,  indeed,  seldom  seen  his  equal, 
lie  could  grasp  any  subject,  and  what  others  found  difficult 
only  served  as  amusement  for  him.  I  saw  him  after  an 
absence  of  two  years.  He  was  a  maniac — in  a  cage,  and 
chained.  The  moment  he  saw  me  he  seized  my  hand. — I 
have  known  sorrow ;  have  seen  friends  die  that  were  as 
near  as  friends  could  be ;  but  the  hour  that  I  sat  by  poor 
Bernet  was  an  hour  of  the  greatest  anguish  I  ever  knew.'  " 


FORMATION    OF    HABITS.  349 

Mercy  to  inferior  animals  is  an  extension  of  the  principle 
of  kindness.  There  is  this  to  be  said  of  cruelty,  that  it 
proceeds  from  ignorance  of  the  feelings  of  dumb  creatures 
as  often  as  from  indifference  to  them.  When  the  amount 
of  suffering  endured  by  these  animals  is  pointed  out,  and 
the  imagination  is  awakened  to  realize  it,  the  way  is  prepa- 
red for  the  removal  of  the  cruelty  which  is  so  often  exer- 
cised towards  them. 

%  Forgiveness  of  injuries  is  the  first  and  natural  application 
of  the  Christian  rule,  and  the  seventy  times  seven  of  the 
Gospel  are  not  an  exaggeration  of  the  extent  and  univer- 
sality of  its  application.  Another  principle  of  Christian 
doctrine  comes  in  here,  in  the  words  of  Christ :  "  If  ye  for- 
give not  men  their  trespasses,  neither  will  your  Father  for- 
give your  trespasses."*  It  is  our  only  condition  of  forgive- 
ness. Then  comes  the  example  of  the  Saviour  in  the  very 
moment  of  his  agony :  "  Father,  forgive  them,  they  know 
not  what  they  do."f  To  this  we  must  add  our  own  prac- 
tice. How  many  times  ought  we  to  forgive  the  violations 
of  our  own  poor  and  imperfect  laws  ! 

Charitableness  is  a  far  higher,  more  comprehensive,  and 
more  difficult  duty  ;  more  difficult,  because  it  requires  a  low- 
liness of  spirit  entirely  at  variance  with  the  pride  which  al- 
most universally  belongs  to  the  human  heart.  Charitable- 
ness is  the  highest  attainment  of  the  Christian.^  Many 
occasions  will  occur  of  doing  something  to  recommend  this 
virtue.  It  will  often  happen  that  children  of  different  re- 
ligious denominations  are  in  the  same  school,  all  of  whom, 
under  the  influence  of  the  bigoted  and  intolerant  spirit  so 
natural  to  ignorance,  will  take  it  for  granted  that  they  are 
right,  and  those  who  differ  from  them  are  wrong.  Nothing 
will  diffuse  a  right  spirit  among  such  discordant  materials 

*  Matthew,  vi.,  15.  t  Luke,  xxiii.,  34. 

}  "  The  greatest  of  these  is  charity." — 1  Corinthians,  xiii.,  13. 
Go 


350 


DUTIES. 


but  the  recommendations  of  charity  and  the  enforcement  of 
the  Christian  command,  "  Judge  not." 

In  all  these  instances  we  must,  I  think,  teach  Christian 
morality.  All  other  codes  of  morals  fall  so  infinitely  short 
of  this,  that  if  we,  who  have  been  taught  of  Christ,  who 
have  read  his  doctrines  and  studied  his  life,  would  teach 
morality  at  all,  it  must  be  Christian  morality.  This  we  may 
do,  if  we  are  earnestly  desirous  of  doing  our  duty,  without 
interfering  with  the  subject  of  religious  opinions,  upon 
which,  by  universal  consent,  it  is  agreed  that  the  teacher  of 
the  common  school  should  not  encroach. 

Justice,  and  respect  for  the  rights  of  property.  Justice,  in 
its  true  meaning,  is  not  less  comprehensive  than  charity. 
It  embraces  what  is  due  to  ourselves  and  what  is  due  to 
others.  It  demands  of  me  that  I  should  respect  the  prop- 
erty, the  opinions,  and  the  feelings  of  others.  It  teaches 
me  that  I  have  a  right  that  others  should  respect  my  prop- 
erty, my  opinions,  and  my  feelings.  In  this  comprehensive 
eense,  it  is  second  to  no  duty  in  importance. 

It  should  be  taught  and  enforced  in  school,  both  on  ac- 
count of  its  intrinsic  excellence,  and  because  it  can  be  taught 
nowhere  else  so  well.  A  school  is  a  miniature  community. 
Events  are  daily  occurring  in  it  similar  to  those  which  oc- 
cur in  society  in  after-life.  It  gi'ves  wider  scope  for  duty 
than  a  family,  because  it  embraces  a  greater  variety  of  rela- 
tions, and  thus  creates  a  greater  variety  of  rights.  All  of 
these  are  liable  to  be  infringed,  and  each  infringement  gives 
occasion  for  a  lesson  in  justice.  It  may,  moreover,  be  better 
taught  than  in  a  family,  because  there  is  one  person  in  a 
school  who  should  always  be  ready  to  attend  to  it.  The 
teacher  has  no  higher  duty  than  this.  He  must  not  let  the 
occasion  pass  by  without  taking  advantage  of  it.  Besides, 
he  is,  or  ought  to  be,  better  qualified  to  teach  this  virtue 
than  many  parents. 

It  may  be  better  taught  in  school  than  from  the  pulpit, 


JUSTICE.  351 

because  it  is  most  naturally  and  effectually  taught  by  instan- 
ces such  as  are  continually  presenting  themselves  in  school, 
and  because  it  should  form  part  of  the  earliest  lessons  of 
children,  of  an  age  not  commonly  touched  by  the  instruc- 
tions from  the  pulpit. 

It  rests  on  the  same  foundation  as  the  duty  of  charity, — on 
the  great  Christian  law,  "  Whatsoever  ye  would  that  men 
should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them  ;"  and  to  this  it 
should  always  be  referred. 

The  simplest  and  most  comprehensible  application  of  this 
law  is  to  the  rights  of  property.  "  Thou  shall  not  steal," 
should  be  explained,  not  only  to  signify  what,  in  its  limited 
sense,  it  is  commonly  taken  to  mean,  but  to  forbid  all  injury 
done  to  property. 

Let  me  give  a  single  instance. 

A  teacher  often  heard  complaints  of  the  injury  done  to 
bonnets,  hats,  and  cloaks,  in  the  entry  where  they  were  de- 
posited when  the  children  entered  school.  Not  unfrequent- 
ly  a  cloak  was  taken  down  from  its  peg,  or  carelessly 
thrown  down,  and  afterward  trampled  on,  dirtied,  and  some- 
times torn.  To  present  the  matter  in  its  proper  light,  he 
took  occasion,  in  one  of  the  general  lessons,  immediately 
after  an  injury  of  this  kind  had  been  done,  to  speak  of  the 
crime  of  theft.  He  showed  that  this  consisted  in  taking, 
without  leave,  an  article  belonging  to  another.  "  This  form 
of  the  offence,"  he  said,  "  most  of  you  are  in  little  danger 
of  committing  ;  but  a  part  of  the  evil  of  this  violation  of  the 
rights  of  property  is  in  the  injury  done  to  a  person  by  de- 
priving him  of  his  property,  and  a  part  in  the  disappoint- 
ment or  vexation  which  it  causes  him.  Now  I  have  ob- 
served that  injury  is  often  done, — not  a  very  great  injury,  to 
be  sure,  but  an  injury  which  is  of  some  consequence, — to 
the  cloaks  and  hats  in  the  entry.  You  do  not  mean  to  injure 
each  others'  property  ;  but,  by  your  carelessness  and  thought- 
lessness, you  do  actually  violate  the  spirit  of  the  command, 


352  DUTIES. 

'Thou  shall  not  steal.'  Maria's  cloak,  which  was  thrown 
down  and  trampled  on,  is  injured.  She  left  it  in  its  place  ; 
it  was  taken  away,  and  she  had  to  lose  her  time  in  search- 
ing for  it.  When  she  found  it,  instead  of  finding  it  neat 
and  clean  as  she  left  it,  she  found  it  dirty  and  torn.  She 
must  have  had  her  feelings  hurt.  Her  property  had  not 
been  taken  away,  but  it  had  been  injured,  and  she  is  sub- 
jected to  the  mortification  of  wearing  home  a  dirty  and 
trampled  garment.  If  it  had  been  my  own  cloak  which 
was  so  much  injured,  I  should  certainly  have  preferred  that 
money  should  have  been  taken  from  my  pocket.  It  would 
have  cost  me  money  to  have  it  mended  ;  and,  besides,  I 
should  have  had  the  additional  pain  of  seeing  its  beauty  de- 
stroyed. None  of  you  will  think  of  taking  my  money  ;  and 
yet,  whoever  throws  down  and  tramples  on  my  cloak,  does 
me  more  harm  than  if  he  had  taken  some  of  my  money. 
Can  this  be  right  1  Is  not  this  violating  the  spirit  of  the 
command  of  which  I  have  been  speaking  ?" 

In  a  similar  manner  may  we  show  that  justice  requires 
us  to  respect  the  feelings  of  others. 

The  greatest  defect  in  the  American  character,  in  refer- 
ence to  others,  seems  to  be  want  of  respect  for  superiors. 
This  leads  to  ill  manners  of  every  kind ;  for  children  ought 
rather  to  regard  all  as  their  superiors,  and  to  be  taught  to 
respect  them ;  and  such,  doubtless,  is  the  spirit  of  the  morali- 
ty of  the  Gospel.  Every  teacher  may  do  much  to  incul- 
cate a  right  feeling  in  children  towards  their  superiors,  and 
a  simple  and  modest  habit  of  expressing  it.  There  is  no 
difficulty  in  the  matter,  except  the  proneness  among  teach- 
ers 1o  consider  it  as  something  not  belonging  to  them.  But 
it  is  the  duty  of  a  teacher  to  do  what  he  can  for  the  benefit 
of  his  pupils  in  every  respect,  in  manners  as  well  as  morals. 
They  are  intimately  connected.  Good  manners  are  merely 
the  outward  expression  of  good  feelings  and  good  morals, 


AUTHORITY  OF  LAW — LOVE  OF  TRUTH.     353 

and  there  must  be  some  great  defect  in  the  latter  when  there 
is  so  much  that  is  wrong  in  the  former.  The  real  defect  at 
bottom  is  inordinate  conceit  and  want  of  modesty.  Much 
may  be  done  towards  correcting  this  by  the  example  and  in- 
structions of  a  teacher  who  is  himself  modest.  He  should 
inculcate  obedience  to  parents,  and  respect  for  the  aged  and 
for  the  stranger. 

Submission  to  the  authority  of  Law.  In  no  part  of  the 
world  is  this  so  important  as.  in  these  United  States.  Ours 
is  a  government  of  laws.  All  our  people  should  therefore 
be  accustomed,  from  th^ir  earliest  years,  to  submit  to  the 
authority  of  law ;  to  submit,  not  by  compulsion,  but  volun- 
tarily. This  is  one  strong  reason  why  authority  should  be 
established,  and  laws  strictly  observed,  in  every  school.  In 
this  respect,  school  must  be  a  preparation  for  the  society 
of  the  world.  It  should  be  the  object  of  the  instructer,  in 
his  system  of  government,  to  form  the  habit  of  obeying  the 
law  because  it  is  just  law,  and  because  it  is  for  the  common 
good.  Such  reasoning  as  the  following  may  be  employed  : 
You  see  that,  if  every  boy  in  school  be  allowed  to  leave  his 
seat,  speak,  or  whisper  whenever  he  pleases,  it  will  be  im- 
possible for  any  one  to  study.  The  purpose  for  which  you 
came  here  will  be  defeated,  and  school  will  be  of  no  use. 
Order  and  quiet  must  therefore  prevail ;  and  that  they  may, 
and  that  all  may  enjoy  the  great  advantages  which  follow 
from  them,  each  one  must  consent  to  give  up  a  portion  of 
his  liberty.  He  will  gain  much  more  by  it  than  he  loses. 
He  only  gives  up  the  privilege  of  making  a  noise  when  he 
ought  to.be  quiet,  and  in  exchange,  he  gains  the  privilege 
of  not  being  interrupted  by  every  one  of  forty  others  when 
they  please  to  interrupt  him. 

A  more  fundamental  principle  to  be  inculcated  is  love  of 
Truth,  and  the  habit  of  respecting  it.  Children  should  be 
taught,  as  early  as  possible,  to  feel  how  mean,  base,  loath- 
some, cowardly,  and  wicked  a  thing  falsehood  is,  and  how 
Go2 


354  DUTIES. 

noble,  generous,  and  glorious  it  is  always  to  tell  the  truth. 
Nothing  is  so  important  to  the  future  character  of  a  child  as 
that  he  should  have  the  right  feeling,  and,  built  upon  the 
feeling,  and  growing  out  of  it,  the  right  habit  in  regard 
to  truth  and  falsehood.  The  first  requisite  is  that  the  teacher 
should  himself  have  an  abhorrence  of  falsehood.  This  must 
be  modified  only  by  his  compassion  for  the  weakness  of 
childhood,  so  that  he  may  be  able  to  pardon  even  a  lie. 
Children  are  made  liars  by  the  examples  set  them  from  their 
earliest  days.  They  are  coaxed  by  falsehood,  by  what  are 
called  white  lies,  to  get  up  and  to  go  to  bed,  to  go  to  play 
and  to  give  up  their  playthings,  to  give  up  food  and  to  take 
medicine.  They  are  even  coaxed  by  falsehood  into  being 
good  !  They  should  never  be  deceived.  No  matter  whether 
the  thing  in  question  be  of  small  or  of  great  consequence, 
they  should  never  be  deceived.  A  promise  made  to  a 
child,  like  every  other  promise,  should  always  be  religiously 
kept.  There  is  no  such  a  thing  as  a  white  lie.  Every  de- 
ception is  a  lie,  and,  if  practised  upon  a  child,  injures  and 
tends  to  destroy,  his  moral  sense.  Such  a  deception  is  a  lie 
of  the  blackest  hue. 

Another  way  in  which  children  are  made  liars  is  being 
allowed,  and  even  encouraged,  by  the  example  of  others,  to 
use  exaggeration,  to  speak  in  extravagant  language.  This 
should  be  checked  whenever  the  occasion  occurs,  and  the 
falseness  and  dangerous  tendency  of  it  pointed  out.  Per- 
sons of  little  conscientiousness  will  be  likely  to  think  such 
practices  of  slight  consequence.  But,  in  forming  the  con- 
science of  a  child,  they  are  of  very  great ;  and  the  .suscepti- 
ble conscience  of  most  children  may  be  easily  led  so  to 
regard  them. 

Another  way  of  teaching  falsehood  is  by  allowing  and 
even  encouraging  children  to  make  promises.  On  this  point, 
the  only  safe  course  is  that  pointed  out  in  the  command  of 
Jesus  Christ,  "  Swear  not  at  all,"  which,  as  is  obvious  from 


REVERENCE.  355 

its  connexion,  was  intended  to  forbid  light  promises,  and 
has  not,  as  is  commonly  supposed,  anything  to  do  with  pro- 
fane language.  The  author  of  this  command  knew  the 
weakness  of  the  heart ;  and  the  more  we  examine  the  sub- 
ject, the  more  fully  shall  we  be  convinced  that  he  was  right. 
It  is  very  questionable  whether  children  should  ever  be  al- 
lowed to  promise — even  to  be  better. 

Children  are  often  driven  to  falsehood  by  fear.  That 
must  be  a  bad  system  of  government,  in  a  family  or  in  a 
school,  which  urges  children  to  have  recourse  to  falsehood 
to  avoid  punishment.  The  teacher  should  avoid  any  ap- 
proach to  it,  as  he  should  uniformly  teach  that  falsehood  is 
worse  than  any  other  offence  of  which  children  can  be 
guilty. 

The  most  distinguishing  characteristic  of  man  is  his  pos- 
session of  the  power  of  reverencing  and  worshipping  the  in- 
visible Being  who  has  created  and  who  preserves  him.  No 
approach  to  this  power  seems  to  be  possessed  by  the  brute 
animals.  To  raise  ourselves  still  higher  in  the  scale  of  be- 
ing, we  must  cultivate  this  power  ;  and  with  it  is  connect- 
ed a  reverence  for  those  laws  which  the  Creator  has  im- 
pressed on  all  his  works.  It  is  the  highest  conception  that 
we  can  have  of  the  Creator,  that  he  governs  this  vast  crea- 
tion, with  all  the  innumerable  classes  of  beings  with  which 
it  seems  to  be  populous,  by  wise,  just,  and  merciful  laws, 
all  made  with  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  infinitely  diversi- 
fied relations  which  connect  these  beings,  and  all  made  with 
a  view  to  the  highest  good  and  happiness  of  each  creature. 
And  it  is  the  noblest  and  most  elevating  idea  that  we  can 
form  of  man,  that  he  is  so  created  as  to  be  able  to  find  out 
and  understand  these  laws,  at  least  so  far  as  they  relate  to 
himself  and  the  portion  of  the  universe  in  which  he  is  pla- 
ced, that  he  may  gradually  comprehend  their  wisdom,  beau- 
ty, and  beneficence,  can  perceive  them  to  be  worthy  of  the 
Infinite  Being  who  has  appointed  them,  and,  observing  and 


356  DUTIES. 

respecting  them  all  as  His  laws,  may  rise,  through  them  and 
by  means  of  them,  to  the  spiritual  worship  of  Him  who  is  a 
spirit,  and  to  be  worshipped  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  It  is, 
therefore,  the  highest  distinction  and  the  most  precious  priv- 
ilege of  man,  to  be  able  to  worship  God,  and  to  do  some- 
thing to  lead  others  to  worship  him  and  to  reverence  his 
laws.  This  distinction  and  this  privilege,  in  their  widest 
extent,  belong  to  the  teacher.  It  is  for  him  to  do  and  to 
leach.  How  is  he  to  exercise  this  great  privilege — to  per- 
form this  high  duty  ? 

First,  by  the  strong  and  constant  influence  of  his  exam- 
ple. He  must  fill  his  soul  with  adoration  of  the  Infinite  Fa- 
ther. He  must  begin  every  day  with  God.  He  must  en- 
deavour to  live  with  an  habitual  sense  of  his  presence,  and 
to  be  a  servant  of  God.  This,  however  really,  he  may  do 
secretly.*  He  need  make  no  pretensions  to  sanctity.  If 
lie  feel  himself  not  to  be  as  religious  as  he  ought,  he  need 
make  no  professions.  In  his  own  heart  he  may  fear  and 
reverence  him,  and  strive  daily  to  serve  him  better.  If  he 
can  conscientiously  do  it,  he  ought  to  commence  his  daily 
labours  in  school  with  an  act  of  worship.  If  he  have  no  gift 
of  language,  he  can  at  least  utter  the  Lord's  Prayer ;  or  he 
may  use  some  of  the  excellent  prayers  which  are  prepared, 
and  which  form  part  of  the  worship  of  many  fraternities  of 
( Christians  ;  or,  if  he  feel  that  it  would  be  sacrilege  in  him 
to  do  so  much  as  this,  and  he  yet  feels  a  reverence  for  God, 
and  acknowledges  that  it  is  his  duty  to  express  that  feeling 
for  the  sake  of  others  who  are  looking  to  him  for  guidance, 
lot  him  select  appropriate  passages  from  the  New  and  Old 
Testament,  and  read  them  as  an  introduction  to  his  labours. 
In  that  vast  treasure-house  of  rapt  thought  and  devout  aspi- 
rations, he  may  easily  find  an  expression  for  his  feelings. 

If  he  be  so  disposed,  and  can  do  it  reverently,  let  him  add 
his  own  thoughts  and  the  expression  of  his  feelings  in  his 
*  "  But  thou,  when  thou  prayest,  enter  into  thy  closet." 


REVERENCE.  357 

own  words,  or  in  those  which  he  may  have  selected  as  ex- 
pressive of  his  own.  By  daily  doing  or  attempting  this,  he 
will  best  cultivate  his  own  sentiment  of  reverence,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  that  of  those  who  hear  him.  But  all  this 
must  be  done  seriously  and  in  earnest,  else  let  it  not  be 
done  at  all.  The  deadliest  offence  against  Heaven,  against 
his  own  soul,  and  against  the  souls  of  his  pupils,  is  hypoc- 
risy. 

Every  occasion  that  presents  itself  in  the  course  of  the 
day  must  be  used  to  awaken  and  strengthen  the  sentiment 
of  reverence.  Formal  lectures  do  no  good.  There  must  be 
the  feeling  of  reverence  in  what  is  said.  The  wickedness 
of  profane  language  must  be  pointed  out.  To  do  this  will 
be  enough  in  the  case  of  the  conscientious  pupil,  in  whom 
a  reverential  feeling  is  already  excited.  But  there  are 
those  who  are  below  this  state,  but  who  have  yet  what  is 
called  a  sense  of  honour.  To  them  the  vulgarity  of  profane- 
ness  must  be  shown,  and  how  despicable  those  are  who  in- 
dulge in  such  language.  Besides  this,  the  institutions  of 
religion  should  always  be  spoken  of  with  respect, — the  Sab- 
bath, the  pulpit,  and  all  that  is  connected  with  religious 
opinion  ;  not  only  what  we  ourselves  hold  to  be  sacred,  but 
what  any  others  deem  so.  On  the  subject  of  religion,  we 
should  respect  the  opinions  of  others  even  when  we  differ 
from  them. 

The  feeling  of  reverence  is  now  extended  to  the  moral 
laws.  It  should  be  also  extended  to  the  laws  of  the  intel- 
lect and  of  the  body.  If  we  acknowledge  God  to  be  the 
author  of  both,  they  are  all  His  laws,  and  to  be  obeyed  as 
such.  Here  opens  a  new  series  of  duties  for  the  teacher. 
He  is  to  study  these  laws,  and  to  observe  and  teach  them. 
He  is  to  explain  them  to  his  pupils,  and  thus  enlighten  their 
conscience  in  regard  to  them,  so  that  they  shall  consider  it 
no  less  really  a  part  of  duty  to  keep  the  body  in  health,  and 
to  exercise  and  improve  all  the  faculties  of  the  mind,  than 


358  DUTIES. 

to  observe  the  laws  of  tlie  Decalogue.  I  say  that  a  new 
series  of  duties  here  opens  to  the  teacher,  because  most 
persons  now  speak  and  act  as  if  they  thought  that  the  laws 
that  relate  to  the  body  and  the  mind  were  not  God's  laws, 
and  to  violate  them  were  not  disobedience  to  him.  What 
is  this  but  saying  that  the  laws  of  God  do  not  extend  over 
his  whole  creation  ?  that  they  do  not  embrace  the  mind 
and  body,  but  the  soul  only  ?  Is  it  not  equivalent  to  saying 
that  the  command  of  Jesus,  "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy 
God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all 
thy  strength,  and  with  all  thy  mind,"*  should  be  understood 
as  extending  only  to  the  soul,  and  embracing  neither  the 
strength  of  the  body  nor  the  faculties  of  the  mind  ? 

I  have  spoken  very  seriously,  in  this  chapter,  of  our  du- 
ties as  moral  teachers.  This  I  am  bound  to  do.  I  am  not 
at  liberty  to  do  less.  To  multitudes  of  our  pupils  we  are 
the  only  teachers  of  moral  truth.  Unless  they  get  a  sense 
of  their  moral  duties  from  us,  they  will  not  get  it  at  all. 
And  holding,  as  I  do,  that  man's  moral  and  religious  nature 
is  the  highest  part  of  his  nature,  I  must  hold  that  a  teacher 
has  no  right  to  neglect  the  cultivation  of  this  part  of  the  na- 
ture of  his  pupils.  This  is  vastly  the  most  important  part 
of  their  education  ;  the  most  important  to  themselves  and  to 
the  community,  and  for  their  whole  future  existence.  It  is 
more  important  to  a  man's  self  that  he  should  be  an  upright 
and  conscientious  man,  than  that  he  should  be  an  intelli- 
gent, a  skilful,  or  a  learned  man.  And  it  is,  beyond  meas- 
ure, more  important  to  the  community,  and  especially  to  a 
community  like  ours. 

A  government  of  laws,  such  as  ours  is,  must  in  reality 
be  founded  on  the  moral  sense  of  the  whole  community. 
This,  then,  must  beAiultivated  and  enlightened,  or  as  a 
people  we  are  lost.  The  common  schools  are  established 
by  the  people  for  the  greatest  good  of  the  people.  In  in- 

*  Luke,  -x.,  27. 


THE    TEACHERS    RESPONSIBILITY.  359 

numerable  instances,  I  repeat  it,  the  teachers  of  the  com- 
mon schools  are  the  only  persons  who  have  access  to  the 
young,  who  can  cultivate  their  moral  sense.  If  this  great 
duty  be  rightly  and  truly  performed,  the  schools  will  prevent 
the  crimes  which  the  courts  of  justice  are  established  to 
punish.  To  this  the  system  established  in  our  country 
must  lead. 

Every  teacher  of  a  common  school  should  understand 
that  one  chief  end  for  which  the  schools  are  instituted,  and 
for  which  he  is  placed  in  one  of  them,  is  to  prevent  crime 
by  putting  an  end  to  moral  ignorance  and  depravity  ; 

"  Needful  instruction  ;  not  alone  in  arts 
"Which  to  his  humble  duties  appertain, 
But  in  the  lore  of  right  and  wrong,  the  rule 
Of  human  kindness,  in  the  peaceful  ways 
Of  honesty  and  holiness  severe." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CULTIVATION    OF    THE    POWERS    OF    MIND    AND    BODY. 

"  Bodily  pain  forms  a  large  proportion  of  the  amount  of  human 
misery.  It  is,  therefore,  of  the  highest  importance  that  a  child 
should  grow  up  sound  and  healthful  in  body,  and  with  the  utmost 
degree  of  muscular  strength  that  education  can  communicate." — 
LALOR 

"  The  most  essential  objects  of  education  are  the  two  following  : 
first,  to  cultivate  all  the  various  principles  of  our  natures,  both 
speculative  and  active,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  bring  them  to  the 
greatest  perfection  of  which  they  are  susceptible  ;  and,  secondly, 
by  watching  over  the  impressions  and  associations  which  the  mind 
receives  in  early  life,  to  secure  it  against  the  influence  of  prevailing 
errors,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  engage  its  prepossessions  on  the  side 
of  truth." — STEWART. 

THE  next  aspect  of  the  teacher's  direct  duties  to  his  pu- 
pils is  that  which  regards  the  cultivation  of  their  power* 


360  DUTIES. 

of  mind  and  of  body.  I  say  of  body  as  well  as  of  mind ; 
not  that  the  teacher  of  a  common  school  can  often  do  much 
directly  towards  the  strengthening  and  improving  of  the 
bodily  powers,  but  because  it  is  important  for  him  to  keep 
them  in  view,  otherwise  he  may  sometimes  allow  them  to 
be  neglected,  with  injurious,  and  even  fatal  consequences. 
Forward  and  tractable  children,  especially  those  of  great 
susceptibility  and  of  a  delicate  constitution,  are  apt,  in  every 
stage,  at  school,  as  well  as  at  the  academy  or  college,  to 
become  so  much  interested  in  their  studies  as  to  be  tempt- 
ed entirely  to  neglect  exercise,  to  forego  the  enjoyment  of 
the  air  and  light,  and  to  abridge  their  hours  of  sleep.  Here 
are  natural  laws  violated  ;  and  no  natural  laws  are  ever 
violated  with  impunity.  Whose  business  is  it  to  prevent 
this  ?  The  children,  as  yet,  know  nothing  of  the  natural 
laws ;  and  their  parents  are  often  as  ignorant  as  them- 
selves. The  teacher  must,  for  he  only  can,  interpose.  He 
is  responsible  for  the  right  education  of  the  whole  nature 
of  his  pupils,  and  he  cannot  shift  his  responsibility  to  other 
shoulders.* 

Let  me,  at  the  risk  of  being  charged  with  repeating  what 
I  have  already  said,  state  the  particular  laws  which  the 
teacher  must  see  to  it  that  his  pupils  shall  not,  so  far  as  de- 
pends on  him,  violate. 

The  first  is  that  which  requires  active,  exercise,  for  two 
or  more  hours  each  day,  in  the  open  air  and  by  the  sun's 
light. 

The  second  is  that  which  requires  that,  while  the  mind 

*  Numbers  of  the  most  promising  young  men  in  our  country 
are  annually  offered  up  as  sacrifices  to  atone  for  the  violation  of 
God's  physical  and  organic  laws.  In  most  instances  they  are  inno- 
cent sacrifices — innocent  as  Iphigenia.  They  know  not  the  exist- 
ence of  the  laws  which  they  violate.  Who  is  to  blame  for  this  ! 
Who,  but  the  teachers  of  the  schools  and  colleges  at  which  the 
dreadful  immolation  is  made  !  An  enlightened  public  opinion  will 
hereafter,  if  it  has  not  heretofore,  hold  them  responsible. 


PHYSICAL    LAWS.  361 

is  employed,  the  body  should  be  at  ease,  with  the  feet  rest- 
ing fully  on  the  floor,  and  the  back  supported. 

The  third,  that  the  room  occupied  by  children  should  be 
at  all  times  supplied  with  an  abundance  of  fresh  air. 

The  fourth,  that  the  body  of  a  child  should  not  be  kept 
long  in  one  unvaried  position ;  that  he  should  not  only  not 
be  enjoined,  but  not  be  allowed  to  sit  still  for  more  than  fif- 
teen minutes  at  a  time  if  under  the  age  of  seven,  or  thirty 
if  under  the  age  of  twelve,  or  an  hour  at  any  age. 

The  fifth,  that  the  skin  should  be  kept  constantly  clean. 

The  sixth  is  that  which  requires  for  every  child  seven,  or 
eight,  or  nine  hours  of  undisturbed  sleep  in  the  early  part  of 
every  night,  in  a  well-ventilated  chamber. 

The  seventh,  that  an  abundance  of  simple,  well-cooked 
food  should  be  allowed  every  child  during  the  whole  period 
of  his  growth,  that  is,  from  birth  till  the  age  of  sixteen  or 
twenty. 

The  eighth,  that  the  clothes  should  be  clean  and  suffi- 
cient, and  that  the  feet,  particularly,  should  be  kept  warm. 

It  may  perhaps  be  said,  that  in  regard  to  the  last  three 
the  teacher  often  has  no  control.  True  ;  but  he  has  always 
an  influence,  and  the  observation  of  these  laws  will  be  se- 
cured by  making  them  familiarly  known  to  the  child.  If  he 
understands  that  they  are  laws  of  God's  enactment,  founded 
upon  the  nature  of  his  bodily  constitution,  and  essential  to 
the  welfare  of  the  moral  and  mental  faculties  as  well  as 
those  of  the  body,  he  will  learn  to  respect  and  keep  them, 
and  grow  up  in  obedience  to  them.  Thus  only  will  society 
be  pervaded  with  a  knowledge  of  them. 

But  the  teacher  has  to  do  more  directly  and  entirely  with 
the  mind ;  and  whatever  may  be  the  opinion  of  men  as  to 
his  influence  upon  the  other  parts  of  the  nature  of  a  child, 
all  agree  that  it  is  his  particular  province  to  educate  the 
mind  ;  to  unfold,  as  far  as  he  is  able,  all  its  powers  ;  to  give 
them  their  appropriate  exercise,  so  that  they  may  have  all 
HH 


362  DUTIES. 

the  activity  and  energy  of  which  they  are  capable,  and  to 
place  them  under  the  control  of  their  possessor. 

To  do  this  fully  would  require  a  complete  knowledge  of 
the  powers  of  the  mind  and  of  the  whole  art  of  education. 
This,  perhaps,  would  transcend  the  power  of  any  man  now 
living.  Nevertheless,  we  may  each  do  something,  and 
some  one,  to  rise  np  hereafter,  may  accomplish  all.  That 
one  may  be  among  our  pupils,  and  it  may  be  our  business 
to  give  him  the  first  impulse  which  shall  carry  him  towards 
this  most  desirable  end.  • 

I  shall  not  pretend  to  do  more  than  to  sketch  a  faint  out- 
line of  what  ought  to  be  done,  and  leave  it  to  be  filled  up  by 
others  more  competent  to  the  work. 

If,  with  a  full  and  philosophical  scheme  of  the  several 
faculties  of  the  mind  before  us,  we  aim  directly  at  bringing 
out  and  educating  each  of  them,  sepaiately  or  in  combina- 
tion, we  shall  certainly  accomplish  more  than  now  is  usu- 
ally done.  It  will  soon  be  seen  that  there  is,  in  every  mind, 
such  a  thing  as  the  pleasure  of  exercising  its  faculties,  in- 
dependently of  the  end  for  which  they  are  exercised.  In 
regard  to  many  of  the  faculties,  this  is  very  obvious  in  little 
children,  and  has  frequently  been  remarked.  When  they 
are  beginning  to  talk,  they  evidently  delight  in  the  mere  ut- 
terance of  words,  without  knowing  what  they  say  ;  just  as, 
when  they  are  learning  to  walk,  they  delight  to  walk,  with- 
out knowing  whither  they  are  to  go.  How  diligently  we 
sometimes  see  them  exercising  their  vocabulary  of  numbers, 
when  they  have  just  learned  to  count !  Now  we  may  en- 
large a  little  upon  these  indications,  and  show  both  the 
pleasure  of  exercising  the  faculties,  and  the  means  which 
have  been  found  useful  in  training  them. 

O 

In  particularizing  and  arranging  the  several  powers  of 
the  mind,  I  cannot  follow  any  of  the  discordant,  and  often 
o  intradictory  systems  of  the  metaphysicians,  but  incline 
1 1  her  to  that  suggested  by  the  phrenologists,  without,  how- 


OBSERVING    FACULTIES. 

ever,  venturing  to  pronounce  upon  the  truth  or  falsity  of  the 
physiological  theory  with  which  it  is  associated. 

There  is,  I  think,  such  a  faculty  or  mode  of  action  of  the 
mind  as  that  called  individuality.  It  helps  us  to  examine 
individual  things  without  reference  to  their  use.  We  see 
that  children  usually  delight  to  exercise  their  minds  upon 
the  objects  about  them.  Indeed,  it  seems  to  be,  in  their  ear- 
liest years,  a  great  part  of  their  occupation.  At  the  same 
time  that  they  are  thus  occupied,  they  usually  take  notice 
of  the  form,  size,  weight,  and  colour  of  objects,  and,  if  there 
be  several  of  them,  observe  their  situation,  number,  and 
order.  Now  it  is  certain  that  children  differ  considerably, 
and  sometimes  extremely,  in  their  disposition  to  examine 
one  or  another,  or  all  of  these  particulars ;  and  as  it  is  in 
these  particulars  that  objects  differ  from  each  other,  it  is 
certainly  very  important  that  children  should  not  only  be 
permitted,  but  encouraged,  to  observe  them  attentively  and 
separately.  Most  children  are  much  interested  in  any  em- 
ployment which  requires  the  action  of  the  mind  in  one  or 
more  of  these  ways,  and  I  have  certainly  no  doubt  that 
the  tendency  of  the  mind  to  these  various  actions  is  all  nat- 
ural and  right ;  yet  most  of  what  we  call  idleness  and 
inattention  in  children,  is  owing  to  their  choosing  to  occupy 
their  mind  thus,  instead  of  giving  their  attention  to  some- 
thing which  we  have  prescribed,  and  which  is  less  palatable 
to  them.  A  little  pains  will  enable  us  to  turn  this  tendency 
to  a  practical  use. 

Geometrical  models  are  interesting  to  young  children, 
and  have  been  recommended  by  writers  on  education  as 
playthings  for  them.  They  may  be  used  as  something  bet- 
ter than  playthings,  and  at  once  exercise  very  agreeably  the 
faculties  which  judge  of  form  and  size,  and  be  the  means 
of  giving  an  acquaintance  with  important  names  and  shapes 
of  things.  For  this  purpose  they  should  be  labelled  ;  and 
an  innocent  and  useful  diversion  for  children  would  be  draw- 


364  DUTIES. 

ing  their  figures  on  a  slate.  If  models  cannot  be  obtained, 
representations  of  them  on  paper  may  be  used  as  a  substi- 
tute ;  but  these  are  of  much  less  value. 

Still  better,  especially  for  children  somewhat  more  ad- 
vanced, would  be  mineralogical  specimens ;  and  a  useful 
exercise  would  be  to  direct  the  attention  to  their  forms  and 
angles  ;  to  their  weight,  in  which  they  remarkably  differ ;  to 
their  hardness,  and  to  their  colours ;  and  to  ask  separate 
questions  in  reference  to  each  of  these  qualities.  It  would 
be  a  suitable  reward  for  good  behaviour,  in  elementary 
schools,  to  be  allowed  to  examine  specimens,  and  ask  and 
answer  questions  upon  them. 

Drawing, on  a  slate  or  on  paper ,figures  of  any  kind,  or  only 
straight  and  curved  lines,  is  a  pleasant  and  useful  occupa- 
tion and  exercise,  and  one  which  is  often  a  great  favourite. 
I  have  been  told  by  an  intelligent  teacher  that  he  found  no 
other  reward  necessary  in  the  management  of  a  number  of 
boys  of  various  ages,  than  the  privilege  of  being  allowed  to 
remain  after  school,  and  take  lessons  of  him  in  dravring. 
He,  however,  drew  with  taste  and  skill.  How  much  better 
such  a  reward  than  a  medal !  He  found  no  other  punish- 
ment necessary  than  to  deprive  them  of  this  lesson  !  The 
threat  was  usually  sufficient  to  bring  a  rebellious  boy  to  sub- 
mission, or  an  inattentive  one  to  order.  Each  desk  should 
be  furnished  with  a  slate,  and,  if  there  are  seats  without 
desks,  slates  should  be  provided  for  the  occupants,  so  that, 
when  they  have  nothing  else  to  do,  they  may  employ  them- 
selves in  drawing  or  cyphering.  Much  idleness,  and  vexa- 
tion of  spirit  in  master  and  pupil,  would  be  prevented,  and 
something  might  be  gained,  even  if  no  pains  were  taken  to 
direct  the  child  how  to  use  his  slate.  But  if  he  were  fur- 
nished with  objects  to  copy,  and  assisted  and  encouraged 
to  copy  them,  many  useful  ideas  and  some  skill  might  be 
gained  in  time  which  is  now  worse  than  lost. 

There  are  many  occasions  in  which  the  power  of  judging 


OBSERVING    FACULTIES.  365 

of  the  comparative  size  and  different  shapes  of  bodies  is  of 
considerable  value.  Is  it  not,  therefore,  worth  the  while  to 
cultivate  it  ?  This  may  be  done,  and  a  familiar  knowledge 
of  inches,  feet,  and  other  dimensions,  in  lines  and  surfaces, 
be  communicated,  by  setting  children  to  draw  lines,  one,  two, 
or  any  number  of  inches  long,  and  dividing  into  halves,  thirds, 
quarters,  or  any  other  portions,  and  doubling,  trebling,  or 
quadrupling  them ;  and  by  setting  them  to  draw  squares  of 
one,  two,  or  any  number  of  inches.  To  do  this,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  encourage  them  to  use  their  eyes  and  pencils, 
and  to  furnish  them  with  lines  and  squares  of  the  necessary 
dimensions,  or  with  rules  wherewith  to  compare  or  measure 
their  work. 

Love  of  bright  colours  is  natural  to  nearly  all  persons. 
There  seems  to  be  an  absolute  pleasure,  independent  of  as- 
sociation or  any  ideas  of  utility,  in  looking  at  the  blue  of  the 
sky,  the  white  expanse  of  snow,  the  green  of  foliage,  and 
the  beautiful  colours  of  flowers.  Children  that  have  never 
seen  the  sky,  and  that  cannot  possibly  have  any  associations 
with  most  colours,  often  testify  the  liveliest  delight  in  look- 
ing at  flowers  and  other  bright  objects.  Ought  not  this  fac- 
ulty to  be  cultivated  ?  One  object  of  instruction  should  be 
to  teach  the  correct  use  of  all  common  words,  especially 
those  of  frequent  occurrence.  Such  instruction  is  rarely  giv- 
en in  regard  to  the  names  of  colours.  Yet  it  is  very  neces- 
sary ;  for  any  one  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  observe,  will 
find  that  there  are  many  colours  to  which  different  persons 
would  give  different  names,  and  that  there  are  some  to  which 
many  persons  would  be  able  to  assign  no  name  at  all.  This 
defect  can  only  be  corrected  by  making  a  considerable  va- 
riety of  colours  familiar,  and  associating  them  habitually 
with  their  appropriate  names.  The  list  should  contain  not 
only  black  and  white,  and  what  are  called  the  primary  col- 
ours, red,  orange,  yellow,  green,  blue,  indigo,  violet,  but 
many  of  the  common  shades.  Of  whites,  for  example,  the 
HH  2 


366  DUTIES. 

difference  between  snow-white,  milk-white,  silver-white, 
greenish-white,  and  grayish-white,  and  other  varieties,  might 
be  pointed  out ;  and  among  the  grays,  ash-gray,  smoke- 
gray,  pearl-gray,  bluish-gray,  leaden-gray,  steel-gray,  and 
greenish-gray  ;  among  the  reds,  brick-red,  scarlet,  vermil- 
ion, flesh-red,  rose-red,  peach-blossom,  carmine,  lake,  crim- 
son, cochineal,  cherry-red,  blood-red,  and  chocolate-red ; 
among  the  shades  of  orange,  buff,  brownish,  and  reddish  or- 
ange ;  among  the  yellows,  golden,  sulphur,  wax,  lemon  or 
citron,  gamboge,  saffron,  honey,  straw,  and  ochre  ;  among 
the  greens,  leek,  verdigris,  apple,  emerald,  grass,  sap,  bot- 
tle, and  olive-green  ;  the  difference  between  verditer,  ultra- 
marine, azure,  Prussian,  and  indigo  blues  ;  among  the  vio- 
lets or  purples,  lilach,  pansy,  lavender  ;  and  the  various  tints 
called  browns,  orange  -  brown,  reddish  -  brown,  chestnut - 
brown,  yellowish  -  brown,  wood -brown,  liver,  and  clove- 
brown.*  Where  the  teacher  has  the  perception  and  the 
name  of  the  colours,  what  an  agreeable  and  useful  exercise 
this  discriminating  of  colours,  and  giving  each  its  precise 
name  would  be  !  It  would  doubtless  enhance  the  pleasure 
of  seeing,  and  give  precision  to  language. 

In  regard  to  the  talent  for  reckoning,  and  its  cultivation, 
I  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  much  at  large  in  another 
place.  It  is  here  only  necessary  to  say  that,  among  many 
hundreds  of  pupils  of  both  sexes,  I  have  never  met  with  an 
individual  who  could  not  be  taught  most  of  the  difficult 
mental  processes  in  Colburn's  First  Lessons,  and  afterward 
most  of  the  sections  in  his  Sequel.  If  the  admirable  meth- 
ods which  are  the  foundation  of  these  works  were  general- 
ly adopted,  I  believe  that  nearly  all  persons  could  be  easily 
taught  the  science  of  numbers,  though  it  must  be  confessed 
that  some  children  find  them  always  difficult. 

Order  and  method  are  taught  by  the  general  arrange- 

*  See  Barton's  Flora  of  North  America,  Advertisement,  p.  xii.- 
xix. 


METHOD.  367 

ments  of  the  school,  by  the  regularity  of  the  course  in 
which  studies  are  made  to  succeed  each  other,  and  by  re- 
quiring the  observance  of  exact  neatness  in  the  disposition 
of  the  contents  of  the  pupil's  desk,  and  the  placing  of  his 
hat  and  coat.  These  may  be  regarded  as  trifling  things, 
but  they  are  not  unimportant  in  reference  to  the  habits 
to  be  formed.  Method  in  business  of  every  kind,  on  a 
farm,  in  trades,  in  commerce,  and  in  studies,  is  so  valu- 
able, that  whatever  tends  to  communicate  it  is  worthy  of 
attention.  Love  of  order  should  therefore  be  constantly  in- 
culcated, and  the  practice  of  it  in  every  way  enforced. 
Each  study  and  exercise  of  school  should  have  a  particular 
time  assigned  it,  which  should  not  be  departed  from  without 
sufficient  cause.  It  is  comparatively  easy  for  a  pupil  to  be 
prepared  for  a  task  which  comes  as  regularly  and  as  cer- 
tainly as  the  clock  strikes  the  hour ;  while  all  uncertainty 
is  a  temptation  to  him  to  defer  preparing  himself,  and  thus 
tends  to  form  the  dangerous  habit  of  procrastination.  It  is 
on  account  of  the  importance  of  these  consequences  of  or- 
der, or  the  want  of  it,  that  I  have  insisted  upon  love  of  order 
as  an  essential  qualification  in  a  teacher.  The  want  of  it 
is  a  great  want,  and  costs  himself  and  his  pupils  great  and 
continual  loss  and  trouble. 

Some  extremely  valuable  suggestions  as  to  the  mode  of 
exercising  the  powers  of  observation  and  expression  may 
be  obtained  from  the  account  given  in  Professor  Stowe's 
Report  on  Elementary  Instruction  in  Europe.  The  follow- 
ing is  his  account  of  the  occupations  in  the  Prussian  schools 
during  the  first  six  months,  of  children  from  six  to  eight 
years  of  age : 

"  The  teacher  brings  the  children  around  him,  and  enga- 
ges them  in  familiar  conversation  with  himself.  He  gen- 
erally addresses  them  altogether,  and  they  reply  simultane- 
ously ;  but,  whenever  necessary,  he  addresses  an  individu- 
al, and  requires  the  individual  to  answer  alone.  He  directs 


368  DUTIES. 

their  attention  to  the  different  objects  in  the  schoolroom, 
their  position,  form,  colour,  size,  the  materials  of  which  they 
are  made,  &c.,  and  requires  precise  and  accurate  descrip- 
tions. He  then  requires  them  to  notice  the  various  objects 
that  meet  their  eye  in  their  way  to  their  respective  homes  ; 
and  a  description  of  these  objects,  and  the  circumstances 
under  which  they  saw  them,  will  form  the  subject  of  the 
next  morning's  lesson.  Then  the  house  in  which  they 
live  ;  the  shop  in  which  their  father  works  ;  the  garden  in 
which  they  walk,  &c.,  will  be  the  subject  of  the  success- 
ive lessons  :  and  in  this  way,  for  six  months  or  a  year,  the 
children  are  taught  to  study  things,  to  use  their  own  powers 
of  observation,  and  speak  with  readiness  and  accuracy,  be- 
fore books  are  put  into  their  hands  at  all."* 

The  following  may  serve  as  a  specimen  of  the  kind  of 
accounts  to  be  expected  from  little  children  in  such  a  lesson 
as  this :  When  I  leave  my  father's  house,  on  my  way  to 
school,  I  come  through  the  gate  into  the  Belleville  road. 
Then  I  turn  to  the  left,  and  walk  under  the  trees  which  my 
father  has  set  out  before  our  garden.  They  are  maple  and 
hickory  trees.  The  garden  fence  is  very  high,  so  that  I  can- 
not climb  over  it.  It  is  made  of  pieces  of  wood  sharpened 
at  top  and  nailed  to  joists.  The  joists  have  a  spike  driven 
into  them  to  fasten  them  to  the  posts,  and  the  posts  go  into 
the  ground.  When  I  have  passed  by  the  garden,  I  come 
along  by  the  orchard.  There  are  apple-trees  and  cherry- 
trees  in  the  orchard.  Then  I  come  to  my  Uncle  James's 
house,  and  my  cousin  comes  out  to  meet  me.  My  Uncle 
James's  house  is  two  stories  high,  and  painted  white.  It 
has  four  elm-trees  before  it,  and  soft  grass  underneath, 
where  we  play  sometimes,  but  there  is  no  fence.  Nearly 
opposite  to  Uncle  James's,  I  see  the  new  meeting-house. 
It  has  a  high  belfry  and  a  bell.  The  bell  rings  at  seven 

*  Professor  Stowe's  Report,  p.  32,  33. 


FACULTY    OF   OBSERVATION.  369 

o'clock  to  call  people  to  breakfast,  and  at  twelve  o'clock  to 
call  them  home  to  dinner ;  and  on  Sundays  it  rings  to  tell 
people  when  to  go  to  meeting.  Then  I  come  down  the 
hill  to  the  bridge.  Above  the  bridge  I  see  the  dam  and  the 
beautiful  water  falling  over,  and  on  one  end  of  the  dam  I 
see  the  long  flume  that  carries  water  to  the  sawmill.  The 
sawmill  is  on  the  other  side  of  the  bridge.  There  are  a 
great  many  logs  before  the  mill,  and  the  men  roll  some  of 
them  into  the  mill,  and  the  saw  cuts  them  into  boards. 
Then  I  come  up  the  hill,  and  walk  along  before  Mr.  Ste- 
vens's  house,  and  then  I  get  to  school. 

"  If  a  garden  is  given  to  a  class  for  a  lesson,  they  are 
asked  the  size  of  the  garden — its  shape,  which  they  may 
draw  on  the  slate  with  a  pencil — whether  there  are  trees  in 
it — what  the  different  parts  of  a  tree  are — what  parts  grow 
in  the  spring,  and  what  parts  decay  in  autumn,  and  what 
parts  remain  the  same  throughout  the  winter — whether  any 
of  the  trees  are  fruit-trees — what  fruits  they  bear — when 
they  ripen — how  they  look  and  taste — whether  the  fruit  be 
wholesome  or  otherwise — whether  it  is  prudent  to  eat  much 
of  it — what  plants  and  roots  there  are  in  the  garden,  and 
what  use  is  made  of  them — what  flowers  there  are,  and  how 
they  look,"  of  what  colour  they  are,  and  how  they  smell, 
"  &c.  The  teacher  may  then  read  to  them  the  description 
of  the  garden  of  Eden,  in  the  second  chapter  of  Genesis ; 
sing  a  hymn  with  them,  the  imagery  of  which  is  taken  from 
the  fruits  and  blossoms  of  a  garden ;  and  explain  to  them 
how  kind  and  bountiful  God  is,  who  gives  us  such  whole- 
some plants  and  fruits,  and  such  beautiful  flowers,  for  our 
nourishment  and  gratification." 

"  The  external  heavens  also  make  an  interesting  lesson. 
The  sky,  its  appearance  and  colour  at  different  times — the 
clouds,  their  colour,"  especially  towards  evening  or  early 
in  the  morning ;  "  their  varying  form  and  movements,"  their 
appearance  before  rain — "  the  sun,  its  rising  and  setting ;  its 


370  DUTIES. 

concealment  by  clouds  ;  its  warming  the  earth,  and  giving  it 
life  arid  fertility ;  its  great  heat  in  summer,  and  the  danger 
of  being  exposed  to  it  unprotected — the  moon,  its  appear- 
ance by  night,  horned,  gibbous,  full ;  its  occasional  absence 
from  the  heavens  —  the  stars,  their  shining,  difference 
among  them  ;  their  number,  distance  from  us,  &c.  In  this 
connexion  the  teacher  may  read  to  them"  portions  of  the 
eighteenth  or  the  whole  of  "  the  nineteenth  Psalm,  or  other 
passages  of  Scripture  of  that  kind,  sing  with  them  a  hymn 
celebrating  the  glory  of  God  in  the  creation,  and  enforce  the 
moral  bearing  of  such  contemplations  by  appropriate  re- 
marks. A  very  common  lesson  is  the  family  and  family 
duties,  love  to  parents,  love  to  brothers  and  sisters,  con- 
cluding with  appropriate  passages  from  Scripture,  and  sing- 
ing a  family  hymn."* 

By  lessons  of  this  kind,  the  young  pupil  will  not  only  be 
led  to  exercise  his  powers  of  observation  and  description, 
but  he  will  be  led  to  form  pleasant  associations  with  school, 
and  to  feel  that  it  is  connected,  as  it  ought  to  be,  with  his 
life  elsewhere  and  his  preparation  for  the  future.  A  far- 
ther exercise  of  the  observing  powers,  and  of  those  by 
which  we  form  ideas  of  objects  and  events,  is  provided 
by  the  study  of  Geography  and  History,  and  requiring  the 
pupil  to  give  an  account  of  what  he  learns,  in  his  own  lan- 
guage. These  studies,  to  be  interesting  and  useful,  should 
always,  as  far  as  possible,  be  pursued  in  connexion.  The 
study  of  Mineralogy  or  Botany,  or  any  other  branch  of 
Natural  History,  exercises  the  powers  of  observation  and 
comparison,  at  the  same  time  that  it  cultivates  habits  of 
method. 

Music.  It  is  a  matter  of  rejoicing  to  all  who  are  inter- 
ested in  the  progress  of  instruction  in  this  country,  that  Mu- 
sic has  already  been  introduced  into  so  many  of  the  schools. 

*  Professor  Stowe's  Report,  p.  33,  34. 


MUSIC.  371 

As  was  anticipated,  the  effects  are  of  the  most  favourable 
character.  An  art  by  which  so  much  can  be  done  to  soften 
the  asperity  of  the  temper,  to  cheer  the  heart,  and  to  bring 
the  faculties  into  a  condition  favourable  to  their  best  action, 
— an  art  which  adds  so  much  to  the  warmth  of  devotion,  and 
affords  an  amusement  so  innocent  and  elevating,  richly  de- 
serves cultivation.  It  may  not  be  possible  to  introduce  it 
into  every  school,  but,  when  introduced,  it  affords  a  most 
useful  exercise  for  the  lungs,  a  delightful  resource,  and  an 
opportunity  of  unbending  from  severe  and  wearying  study, 
and  resuming  it  with  renewed  vigour.  If  the  teacher  be 
sufficiently  acquainted  with  music  himself,  he  should  teach 
it  to  his  pupils,  at  least  so  far  as  to  enable  them  to  join  with 
him  in  a  hymn.  It  would  be  well,  indeed,  if  every  child 
could  be  taught  music.  There  are  few  who  have  not  some 
capacity  for  it,  if  trained  early  enough  ;  and  those  children 
who  have  a  decided  taste  and  talent  for  it,  learn  so  readily 
that  they  will  soon  become  teachers  to  the  rest.  There 
are,  however,  some  who  are  so  wanting  in  the  faculty  that 
all  instruction  is  thrown  away  upon  them.  In  all  others,  so 
delightful  a  faculty  should  not  be  allowed  to  remain  unim- 
proved. If  accustomed  to  sing  together  in  school,  children 
will  continue  the  practice  elsewhere.  A  beginning  is  made 
which  will  lead  to  a  higher  taste,  and  which  will  ever  after 
be  a  source  of  enjoyment.  How  gladdening,  in  the  poor 
man's  cottage  or  in  the  rich  man's  house,  is  the  sound  of 
that  sweetest  of  all  instruments,  the  human  voice,  tuned  to 
the  wild  and  simple  melodies  of  childhood's  songs,  or  to  the 
rapt  strains  of  devotion ! 

"  The  loftiest  conceptions  of  the  divinity, — the  profound- 
est  adoration, — the  ideas  struggling  out  of  the  depths  of  the 
soul,  of  the  power,  and  beauty,  and  goodness  of  God  and 
creation,  to  which  language,  made  up  by  the  senses,  seems 
so  weak  and  inadequate,  burst  forth  with  the  fulness  of  in- 
spiration in  the  music  of  Handel ;  and  who,  with  even  the 


372  DUTIES. 

rudest  power  of  appreciation,  can  listen  to  those  immortal 
strains  without  being  raised  into  sympathy  with  the  eternal 
aspirations  of  the  highest  minds  for  the  spiritual  and  infi- 
nite ?" 

"  In  teaching  children  to  sing,  the  simplest  combinations, 
both  of  poetry  and  music,  should  be  presented,  but  they 
should  be  beautiful  as  well  as  simple.  The  early  as- 
sociations are  the  most  lasting.  We  ought  to  make  them 
beautiful.  The  songs  of  childhood  should  be  such  as  may 
be  loved  in  after  life,  and  may  contribute  to  form  a  pure 
taste." — LALOR,  p.  16. 

The  power  of  expression  may  be  exercised  and  improved 
by  methods  already  spoken  of,  and  also  by  the  study  of  lan- 
guage, by  committing  to  memory  passages  in  poetry  or 
prose,  and  by  learning  rules.  •  Of  verbal  memory  it  is  not 
necessary  to  speak  very  particularly,  as  it  is  frequently  cul- 
tivated to  the  detriment  of  higher  powers  of  the  mind. 
Still  it  is  valuable,  and  should  receive  a  degree  of  attention. 
It  should  be  a  principle,  to  be  observed  as  far  as  possible  in 
teaching  language,  not  to  allow  a  word  to  be  used  before  the 
object,  action,  or  idea  which  it  represents  is  known.  The 
study  of  a  foreign  or  ancient  language  is  not,  as  is  usually 
thought,  the  mere  exercise  of  the  faculty  of  language  or  ex- 
pression,— the  mere  acquisition  of  words.  On  the  contrary, 
the  study  of  a  language,  rightly  pursued,  is  a  most  impro- 
ving exercise  of  several  of  the  perceptive  faculties — of  the 
faculty  of  comparison,  on  which,  in  a  great  measure,  depend 
judgment,  and  discrimination,  and  taste, — and  of  the  facul- 
ty which  traces  causes.  It  gives  constant  exercise  to  the 
power  of  arrangement,  obliges  one  to  get  the  most  precise 
ideas  of  the  object  or  event  he  is  reading  about,  in  order  to 
render  it  in  the  most  appropriate  language,  and  habituates 
the  mind  to  look  before  and  after.  It  would  be  difficult,  and 
I  have  hitherto  found  it  impossible,  to  find  any  study  so 
well  adapted  to  discipline  thoroughly  so  great  a  variety  of 
faculties. 


REASONING    POWERS.  373 

The  superior  thoroughness  of  education,  and  the  readier 
and  deeper  insight,  not  into  words  only,  but  things,  and  the 
more  complete  command  of  the  faculties  exhibited  by  young 
persons  who  have  been  faithfully  drilled  in  the  languages, 
in  comparison  with  those  who  have  had  any  other  element- 
ary education,  sufficiently  indicates  their  value  ;  and  we  ac- 
cordingly find,  that  in  the  Prussian  schools  they  are  very  gen* 
erally  introduced  as  a  discipline  and  preparation  for  other 
studies. 

But  as  the  study  of  languages,  especially  of  the  most  val- 
uable ones — the  ancient  languages — is  perhaps  necessarily 
excluded  from  a  majority  of  our  public  schools,  it  becomes 
us  to  find  the  best  substitute  for  it  we  can.  To  the  teacher 
who  has  the  opportunity  and  the  time,  I  would  again  most 
earnestly  recommend  the  study  of  the  ancient  languages  as 
one  of  the  best  possible  preparations  for  an  office  whose  ex- 
ercise so  constantly  requires  an  exact  understanding  of  the 
various  meaning  of  words,  and  readiness  in  the  use  of  them. 

Next  to  the  powers  of  observation  and  expression,  the 
powers  of  reflection  and  reasoning  are  to  be  exercised,  as 
indeed  they  must  necessarily  be,  in  some  measure,  in  every 
part  of  the  course.  One  of  the  best  subjects  for  the  exer- 
cise of  these  powers  is,  at  the  same  time,  one  of  the  great- 
est importance  to  the  future  welfare  of  the  child.  This  is 
the  knowledge  of  the  structure  and  laws  of  his  own  body. 
This  should  be  communicated  to  every  child,  and  should 
therefore  be  an  essential  part  of  every  course  of  education, 
in  every  school  except  those  for  the  youngest  children. 
The  omission  of  this  study  in  schools  heretofore  seems  to 
be  one  of  the  strangest  and  most  surprising  facts  in  the  his- 
tory of  human  absurdity.  What  can  be  more  absurd  than 
to  require  a  boy  to  be  familiar  with  the  constitution  of  the 
British  Empire,  when  he  is  ignorant  of  the  constitution  of 
his  own  body  1  Or  to  teach  him  the  course  of  the  Gulf 
Stream,  when  he  knows  nothing  of  the  course  of  his  own 
Ii 


374  DUTIES. 

blood  1  Or  to  make  him  familiar  with  mountains  on  the  face 
of  the  moon,  when  he  knows  not  that  there  are  such  things 
as  pores  in  his  own  face  ?  The  study  is  as  interesting 
as  it  is  important,  and  equally  to  children  of  both  sexes. 
Nothing,  indeed,  is  so  interesting  to  girls ;  for  they  feel, 
while  studying  it,  that  they  are  preparing  themselves  for 
their  own  place  and  duties  in  life,  to  be  the  educators  and 
nurses  of  children,  not  only  in  illness,  but  in  health.  And 
they  see  at  once  what  advantages  this  study  gives  them  in 
forming  and  securing  their  own  health,  and  providing  for  the 
health  and  welfare,  bodily,  mental,  and  moral,  of  those  to  be 
dependant  on  them. 

The  points  to  be  communicated  to  them,  on  which  they 
should  be  led  to  exercise  their  minds,  to  reason,  ask  ques- 
tions, trace  effects  to  causes  and  causes  to  effects,  are  the 
laws  already  laid  down  for  physical  health.  To  enable 
them  to  comprehend  these,  they  should  be  taught,  by  familiar 
conversation,  the  course  of  the  food  after  being  taken  into 
the  mouth,  the  function  of  digestion,  the  action  of  the  lacteals, 
the  course  of  the  blood, — in  the  lungs,  the  action  of  air  upon 
it, — through  the  system,  the  action  of  the  capillaries, — reno- 
vation of  the  substance  of  the  body,  respiration  and  the  ne- 
cessity of  abundant  air,  the  action  of  the  skin,  of  the  pores 
in  insensible  perspiration,  the  constitution  of  the  muscles 
and  the  necessity  of  their  exercise,  the  nature  of  the  bones, 
and  the  necessity  of  strengthening  them  by  exercise,  the 
functions  of  the  brain  and  nervous  system,  and  the  action 
and  importance  of  light  and  air  upon  its  health  ;  then  the 
action  of  the  five  external  senses,  and  the  manner  in  which 
we  obtain  ideas  through  them. 

As  a  discipline  to  the  reasoning  powers,  Geometry  has 
from  ancient  times  been  recommended.  Few  persons  ca- 
pable of  geometrical  reasoning  have  failed  to  observe  the 
advantages  to  be  derived  from  this  exercise.  It  obliges, 
and  thus  habituates  us  to  fix  the  attention,  and  to  follow  a 
train  of  reasoning  from  beginning  to  end.  Every  one  may 


REASONING    AND    REFLECTING    POWERS.  375 

derive  this  benefit  from  it.  A  few,  perhaps  one  in  a  hun- 
dred, or  a  thousand,  require  its  aid  as  an  introduction  to  the 
higher  mathematics. 

Another  good  exercise  for  the  discriminating  and  reason- 
ing powers  is  Grammar,  properly  pursued.  The  common 
process  of  parsing  has  little  or  none  of  this  effect.  Indeed, 
it  would  be  difficult  to  see  what  good  effect  it  has. 

Natural  Philosophy,  judiciously  taught,  gives  a  great  va- 
riety of  exercise  for  the  reasoning  powers,  by  showing  the 
way  in  which  truths  are  established  and  proved,  and  espe- 
cially for  the  faculty  that  looks  into  the  causes  of  things, 
by  tracing  back  the  innumerable  phenomena  of  nature  to  a 
few  great  facts  and  laws. 

A  still  higher  exercise  for  these  faculties  will  be  furnished 
by  turning  the  attention  of  the  child  to  the  powers  of  his 
own  mind,  and  the  processes  which  are  going  on  within  it. 
By  observing  the  operation  of  his  senses,  he  may  be  led  to 
understand  something  of  the  formation  of  ideas.  After  hav- 
ing seen  a  book,  for  example,  he  may  be  made  to  perceive 
that  he  has  the  image  of  a  book,  or  the  idea  of  a  book,  in 
his  mind,  and  that  he  can  thus  conceive  of  a  book  vastly 
larger  or  smaller  than  any  that  he  has  seen.  By  being  led 
to  think  how  an  object  or  person  looked  that  he  had  seen 
some  time  before,  he  will  be  made  to  comprehend  that  ideas 
formed  in  the  mind  may  be  remembered,  and  compared  with 
each  other.  By  being  led  to  notice,  in  winter,  that  his  rec- 
ollection of  summer  is  a  recollection  of  warm,  long  days, 
of  making  hay,  of  the  singing  of  birds,  and  a  number  of  other 
particulars,  he  may  be  made  to  understand  something  of  the 
association  of  ideas.  He  may  be  shown  that  he  can  imagine 
a  country  fuller  of  pleasant,  wild  hills,  of  sunny  fields,  of  wa- 
ving woods,  of  beautiful  flowers  and  birds,  than  any  that  he 
has  seen,  and  thus  get  the  idea  of  the  power  by  which  he 
so  imagines,  and  which  is  called  imagination.  In  similar 
ways,  many  processes  of  his  mind  may  be  made  familiar  to 


376  DUTIES. 

him,  and  lie  may  be  shown  that  he  possesses  various  intel- 
lectual powers.  In  like  manner  may  he  be  made  aware  of 
the  existence  within  him  of  propensities,  appetites,  and  pas- 
sions, which  are  impelling  him  to  action,  and  that  he  has  the 
power  of  controlling  them  all,  and  bringing  them  into  subjec- 
tion to  reason  and  his  sense  of  right ;  that  a  propensity  to  de- 
ceive may  tempt  him  to  falsehood,  but  that  he  has  the  power 
of  resisting,  and,  notwithstanding  the  temptation,  frankly  tell- 
ing the  truth  ;  that  appetite  for  food  leads  him  to  eat,  still  that 
he  has  power  to  deny  the  appetite,  to  moderate  it,  or  to  refuse 
to  eat  altogether  ;  that  the  passion  of  anger  may  tempt  him 
to  injure  another,  but  that  his  better  feelings  may  overcome 
this,  and  lead  him  to  abstain  from  injuring.  He  may  thus 
be  convinced  that  he  has  an  inward  power,  called  conscience 
whose  office  it  is  to  control  the  lower  part  of  his  nature  ; 
that,  connected  with  this,  he  has  a  sentiment  which  leads 
him  to  reverence  the  Supreme  Being  and  to  observe  his 
laws,  and  a  power  of  resisting  evil  and  persevering  in  virtue ; 
that  he  has  a  faculty  which  makes  him  delight  in  contrib- 
uting to  the  happiness  of  those  about  him,  a  faculty  which 
attaches  him  to  his  friends,  a  faculty  which  is  gratified  by 
their  approval,  and  another  which  leads  him  to  value  him- 
self. By  thus  leading  him  to  reflect  on  his  passions,  mo- 
tives, and  mental  and  moral  powers,  we  may  do  much  to 
form  habits  of  self-examination  and  self-control.  And  we 
may  not  only  exercise  the  reflecting  powers,  but  lead  the 
child  to  a  sense  of  duty,  the  duty  of  counteracting  and  re- 
pressing whatsoever  is  evil  in  his  nature,  and  of  strength- 
ening, and  enlightening,  and  yielding  to  what  his  conscience 
approves  as  being  right.  It  may  be  farther  shown,  and  thus 
a  new  source  of  elevating  exercises  be  opened  to  him,  that 
the  voice  of  Heaven,  as  spoken  by  Christ,  confirms  in  a 
wonderful  manner  the  decisions  of  the  inward  voice  of  con- 
science. 

The  imagination  and  the  love  of  the  beautiful  are  to  be 


IMAGINATION.  377 

cultivated  by  the  study  of  the  works  of  the  poets  and  the 
best  of  the  prose  writers.  Or,  if  these  be  not  accessible, 
the  teacher  who  has  the  elements  of  taste  within  himself, 
finds  in  the  many-coloured  woods  of  summer  and  autumn, 
in  the  flowers  that  deck  the  meadows,  the  numberless  col- 
ours, shapes,  and  motions  of  the  morning  or  evening  clouds, 
the  stars,  the  ocean,  the  waterfall, 

"  The  warbling  woodland,  the  resounding  shore, 
The  pomp  of  groves  and  garniture  of  fields  ; 
All  that  the  genial  ray  of  morning  gilds, 
And  all  that  echoes  to  the  song  of  even — 
All  that  the  mountain's  sheltering  bosom  shields, 
And  all  the  dread  magnificence  of  Heaven," 

enough  to  give  play  to  the  wildest  imagination — to  exercise, 
to  form,  to  mature,  the  taste  for  the  beautiful  and  the  sublime. 
Some  of  the  sublimest  strains  of  poetry  that  have  ever  been 
written  are  to  be  found  among  the  sacred  books  of  the  Old 
Testament.  And  native  to  the  language  are  Milton,  Shaks- 
peare,  Goldsmith,  Gray,  Young,  Thompson,  and  a  host  of 
others  in  England,  and  Bryant,  Percival,  Willis,  Longfellow, 
Alston,  Sprague,  and  how  many  more  Americans.  Select 
portions  of  the  best  of  these  should  be  committed  to  mem- 
ory ;  but,  before  it  is  done,  the  teacher  should  take  care 
that  his  pupils  understand  the  sense  and  feel  the  beauty  of 
what  they  are  to  learn,  that  the  exercise  may  not  be  one  of 
mere  words.  Farther  development  will  be  given  to  the 
faculty  by  practice  in  composition. 


378  DUTIES. 


&*£  ,  v          CHAPTER  V. 

COMMUNICATION  OF  KNOWLEDGE. 

"  In  truth,  exact  knowledge,  science,  is  the  last  and  noblest  fruit 
of  all  this  activity  of  intelligence,  of  all  these  acts  of  thought." — 
L' '  Institutcur  Primaire. . 

THE  teacher  is  bound,  in  the  next  place,  to  communicate 
to  his  pupils,  so  far  as  he  can,  the  knowledge  which  shall 
prepare  them  for  the  proper  performance  of  their  duties  in 
life. 

The  statement  itself  shows  that  the  most  essential  thing 
for  the  teacher  to  do  is,  to  point  out  to  his  pupils  what  those 
duties  are,  their  nature,  extent,  and  obligation.  I  have  at- 
tempted to  express,  in  another  chapter,  my  sense  of  the 
magnitude  and  importance  of  this  part  of  a  teacher's  duty. 
I  shall,  in  this  place,  therefore,  only  recommend  a  method 
by  which  a  teacher,  who  has  not  paid  much  attention  to  this 
subject,  and  who  considers  himself  imperfectly  qualified  to 
perform  it,  may,  notwithstanding,  by  devoting  a  little  time 
to  it  daily,  do  great  good  to  his  pupils. 

Let  him  begin  each  day  with  reading  a  portion  of  the 
Scriptures.  If  he  read  in  course,  the  most  suitable  portions 
to  read,  as  simpler  and  more  intelligible  and  interesting  to 
children  than  the  rest,  are  the  Gospels.  If  he  do  not  choose 
to  read  in  course,  the  passage  for  each  day  should  be  se- 
lected, if  possible,  with  reference  to  the  observations  he  is 
going  to  make.  A  person  well  acquainted  with  the  Bible 
will  always  find  this  possible,  for  there  is  no  point  of  human 
duty  upon  which  light  is  not  thrown  by  some  part  of  the  Sa- 
cred Volume,  though  some  familiarity  with  it  is  necessary 
to  enable  him  to  find  the  most  suitable  passage.  After  read- 


COMMUNICATION    OF    KNOWLEDGE.  379 

ing  this,  I  would  have  him  make  a  few  remarks  on  some 
particular  duty.  If  he  cannot  do  it  without  premeditation, 
let  him  take  Dr.  Wayland's  Elements  of  Moral  Science,  or 
some  other  suitable  book,  and,  by  careful  and  attentive  read- 
ing, possess  himself  of  the  substance  of  tl  portion  he  is 
about  to  teach.  If  he  cannot  do  this,  let  him  study  it,  id 
read  the  portion  to  his  pupils,  explaining  what  is  not  already 
sufficiently  clear.  He  will  find  that  he  may  explain  it  all 
in  sixty  lessons, — that  is,  in  five  lessons  each  week  for 
twelve  weeks,  leaving  one  morning  each  week  for  instruc- 
tion on  some  subject  of  duty  which  presents  itself  in  the 
course  of  the  week.  I  have  generally  assigned  a  single 
section  for  each  lesson,  but  less  than  a  whole  section  where 
it  is  long.  For  the  first,  then,  he  may  give,  in  his  own  lan- 
guage, or  read,  the  first  section  on  Moral  Law,  and  ask  the 
questions  at  the  end  of  the  section,  or  such  others  as  occur 
to  him.  This  first  section  he  will  probably  find  the  hardest 
in  the  volume,  both  for  himself  and  for  his  pupils.  Several 
new  words  occur  in  it,  and  the  idea  of  a  law,  in  the  sense 
there  given  it,  is  not  familiar  to  children  or  easy  to  commu- 
nicate.* It  is  quite  important,  then,  for  him  to  make  him- 
self master  of  this  first  lesson,  so  as  to  give  it  in  his  own 
words,  and  let  them  be  as  simple  and  familiar  as  possible. 
For  the  second,  he  may  show  the  importance  of  exercise  ; 
for  the  third,  of  cleanliness.  For  the  fourth,  he  may  give 
the  substance  of  the  second  section  in  Dr.  Wayland's  book, 
on  Intention.  5th,  6th,  and  7th,  Conscience.  8.  Rules  for 
moral  conduct.  9.  The  conscience  which  does  not  reprove. 
10.  Rules  for  happiness.  11.  Enlightening  the  conscience. 

*  The  teacher  should  show  that  the  word  law  is  used  in  two  very 
different  senses :  first,  to  mean  a  principle  which  is  binding  upon  our 
conduct,  which  imposes  upon  us  an  obligation  to  act  or  not  to  act ; 
and,  second,  to  express  a  general  fact.  The  command,  "  Thou  shalt 
not  steal,"  is  a  moral  law,  binding  upon  us  ;  the  fact  that  all  heavy 
bodies  fall  towards  the  earth,  is  a  physical  law. 


380  DUTIES- 

12.  Defects  of  natural  religion.  13.  The  New  Testament. 
14.  How  to  enlighten  the  conscience.  15,  16,  17.  Duties 
to  God.  18.  Nature  of  prayer.  19.  The  duty  of  prayer. 
20.  Utility  of  Prayer.  If  the  teacher  does  not  assent  to 
these  doctrines,  he  ought  not  to  teach  them,  but  may  give 
some  other  lessons  in  their  place.  I  say  not  this  as  dis- 
senting myself,  for  I  do  not ;  but  to  guard  the  teacher  against 
teaching  anything  formally  when  he  is  not  sincere  in  it 
himself.  21.  The  Sabbath.  22.  Christian  Sabbath.  23. 
How  to  observe  the  Sabbath.  24.  Reciprocity  of  duties. 
25.  Love  to  our  neighbour.  26.  Personal  liberty.  27.  Vi- 
olation of  it ;  28.  by  society.  29.  Nature  of  property.  30. 
Violation  of  it.  31  and  32.  Law  of  property.  33,  34. 
Loans.  35.  Insurance.  36.  Exchanges.  If  these  last  sub- 
jects, or  any  others,  are  too  difficult  for  his  pupils,  and  he 
find  he  cannot  explain  them  so  as  to  make  them  intelligible, 
he  may  substitute  something  else  for  them.  He  will  find, 
however,  that  when  he  perfectly  understands  these  subjects 
himself,  he  may,  by  familiar  instances,  make  them  under- 
stood by  his  pupils.  37.  Character.  38,  39.  Reputation. 
40.  Veracity.  This  is  so  important  a  duty  that  it  must  be 
brought  up  often,  and  earnestly  insisted  on.  41,  42.  Asser- 
tions.- 43.  Promises.  44.  Contracts.  45,  46.  Duties  and 
rights  of  parents.  47.  Duties  of  children.  48.  Rights. 
49,  50,51.  Duties  of  citizens.  52.  Forms  of  government. 
This  should  be  enlarged  upon  in  teaching  Geography.  53. 
Government  of  the  United  States.  This,  also,  is  to  be  ex- 
plained in  the  same  connexion.  54,  55,  56.  Benevolence. 
57.  To  the  needy.  58.  Education.  59.  Benevolence  to  the 
wicked  and  injurious.  60.  To  brutes.* 

*  If  the  teacher  prefer  to  connect  his  teaching  with  the  readings 
from  the  Scriptures,  and  thus  to  give  them  their  highest  possible 
confirmation  and  authority,  he  may  use  the  text-book  referred  to,  or 
others,  only  to  assist  him  in  his  thoughts,  while  he  draws  his  in- 
structions from  meditation  on  the  following  or  similar  passages  of 


KNOWLEDGE  TO  BE  COMMUNICATED.      381 

He  will  thus  have  gone  over  all  the  most  important  parts 
of  Moral  Philosophy,  and,  if  he  has  succeeded  in  gaining  the 
attention  and  reaching  the  hearts  of  his  pupils,  he  will  have 
given  them  a  connected  outline  of  their  duties.  This,  be  it 
understood,  is  instruction  in  morals, — it  is  knowledge  of  duty. 
It  is  not  to  take  the  place  of  that  constant  and  effectual 
teaching,  by  example  and  influence,  of  which  I  have  spoken 
elsewhere,  and  which  alone  can  give  a  deep  and  abiding 
sentiment  of  duty. 

A  great  deal  of  information  may  be,  and  ought  to  be,  com- 

Scripture  ;  the  observations  on  each  passage  serving  as  one  lesson, 
to  precede  which  the  chapter,  or  a  part  of  it,  may  be  read.  For  the 
4th  lesson,  on  Intention,  Matthew,  xv.,  19.  5th,  6th,  and  7th.  Ro- 
mans, ii.,  13 ;  Luke,  xii.,  57.  What  was  the  authority  spoken  of, 
Matthew,  vii.,  29 1  For  the  9th,  1  Timothy,  iv.,  2.  10th.  Ecclesias- 
tes,  xi.,  9.  llth.  All  or  any  of  the  teachings  of  Christ.  15th,  16th, 
and  17th,  Matthew,  xxii.,  37 ;  Mark,  xii.,  30  ;  Deuteronomy,  vi.,  5. 
18th.  Matthew,  vi.,  6.  19th.  Luke,  xviii.,  1.  20th.  Luke,  xi.,  9. 
21st.  Exodus,  xx.,  8,  in  connexion  with  Luke,  xiii.,  15.  23d.  Mat- 
thew, xii.,  1-8.  24th.  Matthew,  vii.,  12.  25th.  Luke,  x.,  27-37. 
26th.  Matthew,  xix.,  19.  Instead  of  those  that  follow  in  the  text, 
some  of  the  personal  duties  may  be  substituted,  if  it  be  thought  best. 
27th.  Reconciliation,  Matthew,  v.,  23,  24.  28th.  Make  no  promises, 
Matthew,  v.,  34-37.  29th.  Forgiveness,  Matthew,  vi.,  14,  15,  and 
xviii.,  21-35.  30th.  Primary  importance  of  religion,  Matthew,  vi., 
19-21,  &c.  31st.  Charitableness,  Matthew,  vii.,  1-5.  32d.  Righ- 
teous judgment,  Matthew,  vii.,  16-23.  33d.  The  duty  of  cultivating 
all  our  talents,  Matthew,  xxv.,  14-30.  34th.  Economy,  John,  vi., 
12.  35th.  Courtesy,  1  Peter,  iii.,  8.  36th.  Giving,  Luke,  vi.,  30-38. 
37th.  Causing  to  offend,  Luke,  xvii.,  2.  38th  and  39th.  James,  iv., 
11.  40th.  1  Timothy,  i.,  9,  10,  where  liars  are  associated  with  the 
worst  criminals  possible;  John,  viii.,  44.  41st.  Exodus,  xx.,  16. 
42d.  Self-righteousness,  with  contempt  of  others,  Luke,  xviii.,  9-14. 
43d.  Humility,  Luke,  xiv.,  7-11.  44th.  Purity,  1  Corinthians,  iii., 
16,  17.  45th.  Theft,  Exodus,  xx.,  15.  46th.  Sinning  in  thought, 
Exodus,  xx.,  17.  47th.  Ephesians,  vi.,  1.  48th.  Charitableness,  1 
Corinthians,  xiii.  54th.  Luke,- vi.,  32-36.  55th.  Matthew,  v.,  43-48. 
56th.  Matthew,  xxv.,  31-46.  57th.  Psalm  xii.,  1.  58th.  God  the 
author  of  good,  and  not  of  evil,  James,  i.,  13-17.  59th.  Luke,  v.,  35. 
60th.  Proverbs,  xii.,  10. 


382  DUTIES. 

municated  in  connexion  with  the  reading  lessons,  and  es- 
pecially with  Geography.  The  most  suitable  for  this  last 
purpose  is  knowledge  of  history  and  antiquities,  and  of  the 
productions,  customs,  and  other  peculiarities  of  various  na- 
tions and  countries.  Of  that  I  shall  speak  hereafter.  Be- 
sides these,  there  is  a  great  deal  of  useful,  practical  knowl- 
edge, which  cannot  so  easily  be  introduced  incidentally,  and 
for  giving  which  some  provision  should  be  made.  For  this 
purpose  I  would  recommend  the  first  exercise  in  the  after- 
noon, or  immediately  after  recess  in  the  forenoon,  or  at  such 
other  time  as  may  be  found  most  convenient,  to  be  a  gen- 
eral lesson,  in  which  the  teacher  shall  speak  for  a  few  min- 
utes on  some  interesting  subject,  whereon  he  shall  be  pre- 
pared beforehand.  The  following  is  a  list  of  subjects  for 
sixty  lessons.  For  preparing  these,  any  common  book 
of  Chemistry,  as,  for  example,  The  First  Principles  of 
Chemistry,  by  Professor  Renwick,  in  the  third  series  of  the 
School  District  Library,*  and  any  one  upon  Mechanics,  like 
the  Illustrations  of  Mechanics,  in  the  second  series,  will  be 
sufficient. 

In  the  first  lesson  he  may  speak  of  air,  its  nature,  the 
height  of  the  atmosphere,  its  motion  and  composition.  In  the 
second,  of  oxygen,  its  importance  to  life,  its  action  on  met- 
als, its  entering  into  the  composition  of  many  of  the  rocks. 
In  the  third,  of  nitrogen.  Before  each  of  these  lessons,  some 
questions  should  be  asked  in  reference  to  the  preceding. 
The  fourth  may  be  upon  water,  its  great  reservoirs  in  the 
ocean  and  in  lakes,  its  sources  in  the  clouds,  to  which  it  is 
raised  by  evaporation,  and  from  which,  descending,  it  forms 
rills,  brooks,  and  rivers,  and  its  composition  of  two  gases 
or  airs.  5.  Hydrogen,  the  lightest  of  things.  6.  Carbon, 
the  essential  portion  of  all  wood,  and  of  vegetable  and  ani- 
mal bodies.  7.  Heat,  its  sources ;  the  sun,  artificial  fire, 
animal  life,  fermentation.  8.  The  effects  of  heat,  expand- 
ing all  things,  changing  ice  into  water,  and  water  into  va- 
*  Of  New  York. 


KNOWLEDGE  TO  BE  COMMUNICATED.      383 

pour.  9.  Light,  its  sources  ;  the  sun,  stars,  fire,  violent 
action  of  solids,  its  velocity.  10.  Its  effects  on  animals, 
vegetables,  on  man,  on  his  nervous  system,  and  on  his 
spirits.  11.  Iron,  its  sources  and  uses.  12.  Copper.  13. 
Lead.  14.  Tin.  15.  Mercury.  16.  Gold.  17.  Silver. 
18.  Zinc,  and  any  other  metals.  19.  The  general  proper- 
ties and  great  uses  of  metals.  In  each  of  these  the  metal 
itself  should  be  shown,  and  the  pupils  questioned  in  regard 
to  its  colour,  brilliancy,  hardness,  weight,  &c.  In  the  20th 
lesson  he  might  speak  of  acids,  of  which  vinegar  may  serve 
as  an  instance,  in  a  diluted  state,  and  show  how  it  turns 
vegetable  blues  to  reds.  In  the  21st  and  22d,  he  may  de- 
scribe the  powerful  action  of  the  nitric  and  sulphuric  acids. 
23.  Common  salt,  its  sources,  composition,  and  uses.  24. 
Animal  and  vegetable  oils.  25.  Alkali,  potash  or  soda,  or 
both.  26.  Soap,  hard  and  soft.  27.  Glass,  its  composi- 
tion of  sand  and  an  alkali,  with  or  without  metallic  ores. 
28.  Ink.  29.  Dyes.  30.  Paints.  31.  The  saccharine 
fermentation,  the  formation  of  sugar  in  the  ripening  of 
fruits.  32.  Vinous  fermentation,  illustrated  by  the  making 
of  beer  or  of  cider.  33.  The  acetous  fermentation,  suc- 
ceeded by  the  putrefactive.  Six  lessons  upon  Soils :  34. 
Silex,  flint,  or  sand,  or  gravel,  the  basis  of  soils  ;  35.  Clay, 
importance  and  uses ;  36.  Lime  ;  37.  Vegetable  remains  ; 
38.  Bog  earth  ;  39.  Animal  manure.  Four  on  Meteorol- 
ogy:  40.  Clouds;  41.  Dew,  rain;  42.  Snow,  hail,  and 
ice,  their  causes  and  uses ;  43.  Thunder  and  lightning ; 
44.  Winds,  storms.  Seven  on  Vegetables,  for  which  the 
materials  may  be  obtained  from  the  19th  or  59th  volume 
of  the  School  District  Library  :  45.  Stem  and  bark  of 
trees  ;  46.  Circulation  of  the  sap  and  juices  ;,  47.  The 
leaves ;  48.  The  flower ;  49.  The*  fruit ;  50.  Grains  and 
roots  ;  51.  Uses  of  trees  for  fuel,  shade,  ornament,  and  the 
arts ;  52.  Planting  trees.  Eight  upon  Mechanics :  53. 
First  law  of  motion  ;  54.  The  second  ;  55.  The  third  • 


384  DUTIES. 

56.  The  three  kinds  of  lever ;  57.  The  wheel  and  axle  \ 
58.  The  inclined  plane,  a  plank,  a  railroad  ;  59.  The  screw, 
a  cider-press ;  60.  The  rope,  the  pulleys.  In  speaking 
upon  the  last  fifteen,  constant  use  must  be  made  of  the 
blackboard,  unless  real  machinery  can  be  procured. 

Such  are  specimens  of  the  kind  of  information  that 
should  be  given.  It  is  not  that  which  is  peculiar  to  any 
trade,  but  those  general  truths  which  are  of  use  in  all  trades 
and  pursuits.  It  would  be  well  if  a  book  upon  such  sub- 
jects could  be  introduced  as  a  reading  book  into  schools. 
If  there  be  none,  this  course  of  lessons  maybe  a  substitute. 

A  similar  course  of  lessons  of  very  great  value,  might  be 
made  from  Andrew  Combe's  book  on  Health ;  and  a  third 
from  George  Gombe's  book,  the  Constitution  of  Man. 

It  cannot  be  too  distinctly  kept  in  view  that  our  pupils 
are  to  be  citizens  of  a  free  state.  They  should,  therefore, 
be  prepared  for  their  duties  as  citizens  by  a  knowledge  of 
the  forms  of  government,  of  the  rights  and  duties  of  voters, 
of  the  formation  and  action  of  juries,  of  the  administration 
of  justice,  of  the  great  importance  to  liberty  of  an  absolute 
independence  on  each  other  of  the  legislative,  judicial,  and 
executive  departments  of  civil  government,  and  of  some  of 
the  most  important  of  the  laws.  A  similar  course  of  lessons 
should  therefore  be  given  from  Story  on  the  Constitution, 
when  a  teacher  remains  from  year  to  year  in  the  same 
school,  and  has  pupils,  as  he  always  will  have  some,  capa- 
ble of  being  benefited  by  them. 


SOCIAL  RELATIONS  OF  TEACHERS.       385 


CHAPTER  VI. 

OF   THE   RELATION    OF  A  TEACHER    TO    HIS    FELLOW-TEACH- 
ERS AND  TO  THE  CALLING. 

"  Conferences  of  teachers  would  suffer  no  man's  experience  to  be 
lost.  Every  hint  would  be  taken  up  and  followed  out  by  investiga- 
tion. The  resources  of  each  would  be  drawn  out ;  and  men  would 
learn  the  command  of  their  powers,  and  the  manner  of  keeping  their 
position  in  society." — LALOR. 

EVERY  man  is  bound  to  do  something  for  his  calling, 
something  to  raise  its  respectability  and  advance  its  useful- 
ness. Every  teacher  can  do,  and  must  do  something  for  his. 
If,  of  the  generation  now  coming  upon  the  stage,  each  indi- 
vidual could  number  among  his  friends  but  one  instructer  who 
should  be  a  man  of  learning  and  of  worth, — intelligent,  cul- 
tivated, and  refined,  just  and  generous  ;  one  to  whom,  in  pros- 
perity, he  would  go  for  the  pleasure  of  his  society,  in  diffi- 
culty for  counsel,  and  in  adversity  for  sympathy  and  aid, — 
the  public  feeling  towards  the  teachers  of  the  next  generation 
would  be  very  different  from  what  it  is  now,  in  many  parts 
even  of  this  country.  If  every  individual  could  feel  that  there 
was  something  of  great  value  in  his  own  character  which  he 
owed  directly  to  the  influence  of  a  teacher,  something  which 
made  him  a  more  energetic,  and  a  higher  and  happier  being, 
he  would  feel  a  respect  for  that  teacher  which  would  nat- 
urally be  extended  to  the  class  to  which  the  teacher  be- 
longed. If  he  could  remember  that  the  happiest  days  of  a 
happy  childhood  were  spent  under  the  eye  of  a  gentle,  wise, 
father-like  friend,  that  remembrance  of  happiness  would  be 
associated  with  the  image  of  that  venerated  friend.  If  the 
successful  man  of  business  could  trace  the  germe  of  his 
love  of  order,  of  his  exactness  and  his  despatch,  to  the  hab- 
KK 


386  DUTIES. 

its  instilled  by  a  teacher,  he  could  hardly  fail  to  associate 
him  with  the  sources  of  his  prosperity.  If  the  ripe  scholar 
could  ascribe  to  the  faithful  discipline  and  influential  ex- 
ample of  a  learned  master  his  having  made  a  right  begin- 
ning, he  would  not  fail  to  share  with  him  something  of  the 
praise  of  his  maturity  and  distinction.  If  the  devoted  man 
of  God  could  remember  that  his  early  piety  had  received  an 
upward  impulse  from  the  earnest  and  affectionate  urging  of 
a  kindred  spirit ;  if  the  Christian  mother,  leading  her  chil- 
dren in  the  right  way,  could  look  back  to  the  time  when 
the  clear  line  of  her  duty  was  pointed  out  by  one  who  felt 
that  it  was  a  part  of  his  duty  to  prepare  her  for  the  holy 
office  of  maternity,  would  that  man  of  God  or  that  Christian 
mother  regard  teachers  with  indifference  1 

Is  it  not,  my  fripnds,  because  we  do  so  little  of  what  we 
ought,  because  we  fall  so  far  short  of  our  duty,  because  we 
do  not  leave  our  mark  deeply  engraved  on  the  character  of 
our  pupils,  that  we  are  not  more  highly  esteemed  ? 

To  the  motives  for  self-improvement  which  act  on  other 
persons,  should  be  superadded,  in  the  teacher,  the  consid- 
eration that  every  real  advancement  in  himself  will  be  a 
benefit  to  all  who  are  to  be  instructed  by  him.  He  is  to 
be,  whether  he  wishes  it  or  not,  an  object  of  imitation.  He 
lives  not  for  himself  alone.  If  he  do  wrong,  he  neces- 
sarily teaches  others  to  do  wrong ;  if  he  accomplish  all 
that  he  should,  if  he  live  up  to  his  standard  of  duty,  he 
leads  others  to  do  so.  Every  virtue  which  he  cherishes 
and  strengthens  in  himself  is  the  prolific  seed  growing  up 
into  a  harvest  of  virtues  in  the  hearts  of  his  pupils  ;  every 
vice  he  indulges  will  be  a  sprinkling  of  tares  among  the 
wheat.  From  among  his  pupils  will  rise  up  teachers,  who 
•will  be,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  what  he  makes  them. 
The  first  service,  then,  that  he  can  render  his  fellow-teach- 
ers and  his  calling,  is  the  setting  to  himself  a  high  mark, 
and  pressing  forward  constantly  towards  it. 


SELF-EDUCATION    OF    TEACHERS.  38"3 

His  object  should  especially  be  to  make  himself  an  ac 
complished  teacher.  To  this  end  every  instructor  should, 
if  it  be  in  his  power,  attend  some  course  of  instruction  par- 
ticularly adapted  to  educate  the  teacher, — some  normal 
school.  At  present,  this,  with  most  teachers,  is  impossible, 
as  it  is  only  in  Massachusetts  that  schools  for  teachers  have 
yet  been  successfully  established  in  this  country.  From 
the  department  for  this  purpose  successfully  attached  to 
many  of  the  academies  in  New- York,  he  may  derive  great 
advantages,  and,  in  some  favourable  instances,  most  of  those 
to  be  expected  from  a  normal  school.  But  it  is  only  in  an 
institution  of  this  last  kind,  under  a  teacher  whose  whole 
time  and  energies  are  given  exclusively  to  this  object,  and 
who  has  under  his  control  a  model  school,  in  which  every 
principle  of  instruction  can  be  illustrated,  that  all  the  advan- 
tages of  a  school  for  teachers  can  be  enjoyed.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  time  will  come  when  many  such  shall  be 
established  in  this  and  in  every  state  of  the  Union.  That 
will  certainly  be  the  case  when  the  people  shall  generally 
understand  that  the  education  of  their  children  is  their  dearest 
interest,  and  that  children  can  be  educated  in  the  best  possible 
manner  only  by  teachers  of  the  highest  possible  education. 

Meanwhile,  the  teacher  must  make  up  for  the  defects  in 
his  education  in  the  best  manner  he  can.  Much  may  be 
done  by  a  resolute  purpose  to  make  his  school  what  it 
should  be.  Some  of  the  books  by  which  he  may  be  aided 
have  been  already  spoken  of.  Much  benefit  may  be  deri- 
ved from  journals  of  education,  such  as  the  Common  School 
Journal,  edited  by  Horace  Mann,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts  ; 
the  District  School  Journal,  by  Francis  Dwight,  of  Albany ; 
and  the  Connecticut  Common  School  Journal,  by  Henry 
Barnard,  of  Hartford.  The  character  and  intelligence  of 
these  gentlemen,  and  their  devotion  to  the  cause  of  edu- 
cation, are  a  guarantee  that  these  journals  will  continue  to 
be  of  the  highest  value  ;  and  they  will  probably  continue  to 


388  DUTIES. 

receive  communications  from  some  of  the  most  skilful  and 
experienced  teachers. 

A  means  of  great  mutual  improvement  and  not  a  little  so- 
cial enjoyment  is  presented  in  the  meetings  of  teachers  who 
live  near  enough  to  make  this  practicable.  Those  living 
within  five  or  six  miles  might  agree  to  meet,  and  spend  an 
evening  together,  once  a  week,  or  twice  a  month.  To  make 
the  meeting  profitable,  a  plan  like  the  following  might  be 
pursued.  The  first  half  hour  might  be  spent  in  general 
conversation.  Then,  for  the  despatch  of  business,  a  chair- 
man and  secretary  might  be  chosen,  the  one  to  regulate  the 
discussions,  the  other  to  keep  such  a  record  of  what  was 
discussed,  or  agreed  upon  for  future  discussion,  as  might 
seem  most  useful.  At  each  meeting,  the  following  ques- 
tions, or  some  of  them,  or  similar  ones,  might  be  asked  by 
the  chairman,  immediately  after  the  meeting  was  called  to 
order.  "  Have  you,  since  the  last  meeting,  read  anything 
likely  to  benefit  the  teachers  here  assembled  1  What  exper- 
iments have  you  made  in  managing  or  in  teaching  ?  With 
what  success  ?  If  any  school  within  your  knowledge  has 
been  unsuccessful,  what  do  you  take  to  be  the  cause  ?  Is 
there  anything  wrong  in  the  present  modes  of  teaching? 
What  substitute  would  you  propose  ?  Has  any  new  plan 
of  teaching  or  governing  occurred  to  you  ?  How  do  you 
teach  Arithmetic  ?  How  long  do  you  drill  your  pupils  in 
mental  Arithmetic  before  taking  the  slate  ?  Have  you  tried 
the  abbreviations  in  Division  recommended  in  the  Teacher's 
Manual,  page  158?  Have  you  tried  the  experiment  of  teach- 
ing to  read  by  words  previous  to  letters  ?  With  what  suc- 
cess ?  Cannot  elementary  reading  be  so  taught  as  not  to 
give  habits  of  neglecting  the  thought?  How  do  you 
teach  your  pupils  to  enunciate  perfectly  ?  How  to  pro- 
nounce ?  How  to  give  the  spirit  of  a  passage  ?  Such  a 
person  succeeds  well  in  teaching  to  read  ;  what  is  his  meth- 
od ?  How  do  you  begin  to  teach  writing  ?  Do  you  use  the 


TEACHERS     MEETINGS.  389 

blackboard  in  teaching  to  write  ?  How  do  you  teach  spell* 
ing?  Cannot  the  nonsense  columns  in  spelling-books  be 
dispensed  with  ?  Are  they  of  any  other  use  than  to  furnish 
exercises  in  enunciation  ?  Cannot  the  blackboard  and  slate 
be  substituted  for  other  modes  in  teaching  to  spell  ?  Ought 
any  word  ever  to  be  spelt  before  its  meaning  is  known  ? 
Cannot  Grammar  be  best  taught  at  first  orally  ?  Have  you 
a  general  lesson?  What  hour  do  you  find  best  for  it? 
Ought  not  Physiology  to  be  introduced  ?  What  ways  have 
you  to  check  tardiness  ?  Can  we  dispense  with  corporal 
punishment  in  school,  and  yet  secure  perfectly  good  or-1 
der?  How  can  we  check  emulation  in  school)  and  sub* 
stitute  some  other  ways  of  exciting  to  activity  not  liable  to 
objection  ?  What  are  the  best  modes  of  lending  the  books 
from  the  library  ?  You,  Mr.  A.,  are  said  to  have  excellent 
order  in  school,  without  severity  ;  what  is  your  secret  ? 
Have  you  any  difficulties  in  school  ?  Can  any  one  present 
suggest  a  way  of  getting  over  them  ?  Have  you  any  diffi- 
culty with  the  parents  ?  What  ought  to  be  done  in  the  case  ?" 
It  may  not  be  desirable  or  possible  to  ask  all  these  ques- 
tions at  a  single  meeting.  If  not,  it  may  be  agreed  to  begin 
at  the  next  meeting  with  the  unfinished  questions.  Some  of 
them  may  give  rise  to  discussions  of  great  interest,  which  may 
occupy  several  successive  meetings.  Or  it  may  be  thought 
desirable  for  some  one  or  more  to  write  an  essay  upon  some 
of  these  questions.  Let  it  be  remembered,  that  the  business 
of  teaching  has  yet  to  be  reduced  to  philosophical  principles, 
and  that  the  experience  of  e\»ery  one  is  valuable,  and  his 
suggestions  may  lead  to  improved  methods.  If  communi* 
cations  should  be  made  to  a 'teacher's  meeting,  which  they 
find  valuable  to  themselves,  and  think  will  be  valuable  to 
others,  they  should  be  transmitted  to  the  Deputy  Superin 
tendent,  or  sent  to  the  editor  of  some  School  Journal  We 
are  engaged  in  a  common  cause,  and  all  our  efforts  should 
be  for  the  common  good. 

KK2 


390  DUTIES. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  TEACHER'S  RELATION  TO  THE  PARENTS  OF  HIS  PUPILS, 

"  What  has  the  teacher  to  do  1  To  unfold  intellect  in  varieties  of 
character,  to  harmonize  passion  with  moral  principle, — work  for  the 
most  powerful  mind,  even  with  the  encouragement  and  co-operation 
of  society.  But  the  educator  must  carry  it  on,  over  a  thousand  ob- 
stacles, and  in  the  face  of  perpetual  opposition.  He  must  resist  the 
prejudices  of  parents,  desiring  evil  things  for  their  children  ;  coun- 
teract the  tremendous  influence  of  bad  example  at  home,  and  be 
able,  in  the  short  period  of  his  power,  to  awaken  a  love  of  knowl- 
edge and  a  sense  of  right,  vigorous  enough  to  live  and  struggle 
when  the  aids  of  his  sympathy  and  direction  are  withdrawn." — 
LALOR. 

A  TEACHER'S  success  and  usefulness  in  school,  and  the 
pleasantness  of  his  position  in  society,  often  depend  on  the 
terms  of  his  intercourse  with  the  parents  of  his  pupils.  Af- 
ter a  day  spent  amid  the  noise,  and  in  the  harassing  and 
exhausting  cares  of  school,  a  sensitive  teacher  is  apt  to  feel 
little  inclination  for  society.  His  solitary  walk  or  his  quiet 
fireside,  his  garden  or  his  book,  is  wont  to  seem  more  con- 
genial and  attractive.  In  most  cases  this  is  a  natural  and 
reasonable  feeling,  and  he  may  yield  to  it  until  he  shall 
have  recovered  from  his  exhaustion  by  seclusion  and  rest, 
or  an  employment  entirely  unlike  what  has  occupied  him 
through  the  day.  But  he  should  not  shun  society.  He 
must  sometimes  meet  those' with  whom  he  can  associate  on 
equal  terms,  and  those  whom  he  cannot  help  regarding  as 
his  superiors,  if  he  would  avoid  in  himself  the  offensive  ar- 
rogance, pedantry,  and  self-conceit  which  are  so  often  the 
ridiculous  characteristics  of  an  old  schoolmaster.  And  it 
is  only  in  promiscuous  society  that  his  social  qualities  can 
be  exercised,  and  his  manners  be  refined,  and  he  can  learn 


RELATION    TO    PARENTS.  391 

to  sink  the  peculiarities  of  the  teacher  in  the  better  qualities 
of  common  humanity. 

There  are  thus  great  advantages  to  be  derived  from  society 
which  the  teacher  should  not  be  willing  to  forego.  There 
are  others,  still  more  nearly  related  to  his  pursuits,  of  which 
he  should  never  lose  sight.  Parents  are  often  ignorant  of 
what  is  best  for  their  children,  or  thwart  his  plans  for  their 
good  from  thoughtlessness  or  inattention.  In  such  a  case 
a  teacher  has  a  duty  to  perform.  By  showing  that  he  feels 
a  sincere  interest  in  their  children,  he  may  often,  modestly 
and  without  undue  assumption,  induce  them  to  take  a  nearer 
and  juster  view  of  their  children's  welfare,  and  to  accede  to 
his  plans  for  their  benefit.  A  few  questions  to  a  parent  may 
sometimes  be  sufficient  to  give  his  thoughts  a  right  direc- 
tion :  "  Would  it  not  be  better,  as  your  son  is  to  attend 
school  but  a  few  months  longer,  that  he  should  be  more  reg- 
ular and  more  punctual  ?  He  now  loses  one  or  two  days 
a  week,  and  sometimes  one  hour  a  day,  even  when  he  is 
present.  Does  he  know  enough  to  leave  school  yet  1 
Might  he  not  do  something  more  in  preparation  for  the  du- 
ties of  life  ?"  Such  questions  would  come  with  an  ill  grace 
from  one  who  was  pursuing  a  mere  dull  routine,  which  left 
it  doubtful  with  the  parent  whether  the  child  were  really 
making  any  preparation  for  active  life ;  but  very  suitably 
from  a  teacher,  who  was  using  every  exertion  to  improve  his 
pupils'  habits,  and  store  their  minds  with  useful  knowledge. 
The  expression  of  real  interest  in  a  child  will  never  be 
without  its  effect  upon  a  parent.  He  will  be  very  likely  to 
say  to  himself,  "  This  teacher  is  my  child's  true  friend ;  I 
certainly  must  not  interfere  to  prevent  his  doing  him  good." 
All  genuine  feelings  are  easily  communicated.  The  parent 
will  feel,  if  not  say,  "  Shall  this  teacher,  this  stranger,  feel 
more  and  do  more. for  my  child  than  I  myself?"  The  very 
fact  that  you  express  a  strong  desire  to  have  his  children 
come  more  punctually,  will  be  a  reason  why  they  should 


392  DUTIES. 

If  you  have  difficulty  in  school,  and  know  or  have  reason 
to  suspect,  that  certain  parents  encourage  their  children  to 
insubordination,  a  kind  visit,  evincing  a  regard  for  them  and 
an  interest  in  their  children,  will  often  completely  disarm 
hostility,  and  change  it  to  a  favourable  feeling.  Sit  down 
with  them ;  laugh,  and  talk,  and  make  yourself  agreeable  ; 
show  your  friendly  feelings  towards  them,  and  you  will 
hardly  fail  to  make  them  your  friends. 

They  have  sometimes  a  disinclination  to  get  books  for 
their  children.  Take  pains  to  show  them,  as  you  easily 
can,  what  poor  economy  this  is ;  how  it  wastes  the  time  of 
the  child,  and  deprives  him  of  advantages. 

Parents  are  often  favourably  influenced  by  what  their 
children  are  doing.  Many  a  vicious  parent  has  been  re- 
claimed by  hearing,  from  the  mouth  of  a  child,  the  lessons 
brought  home  from  a  Sunday-school.  For  all  good  influ- 
ences, your  school  ought  to  be  as  good  as  any  Sunday-school 
whatever.  Take  care  that  the  influence  of  the  children  in 
your  school  shall  have  a  tendency  to  reform  whatever  is 
wrong  about  them. 

/Honour  your  calling.  A  teacher  should  not  affect  to  be 
what  he  is  not.  Let  him  be  content  to  be  a  teacher,  and 
in  that  capacity  do  what  he  can.  He  will  find  enough  to 
do  in  his  own  domain,  in  learning  the  character  and  cir- 
cumstances of  his  pupils,  and  in  adapting  his  instructions 
to  their  wants,  without  interfering  in  the  duties  or  business 
of  others.  A  source  of  great  mischief  throughout  our  coun- 
try is  the  common  disposition  to  aspire  to  places  for  which 
one  is  not  qualified.  Be  modest.  Guard  yourselves  against 
the  besetting  sin  of  those  who  have  to  do  only  with  chil- 
dren, an  undue  estimation  of  yourselves.  Be  religious. 
"  Those  who  consent  to  live  for  the  service  of  men  who 
neither  know  nor  can  appreciate  them,  must  keep  their  eyes 
steadfastly  fixed  on  Heaven ;  that  witness  is  necessary  for 
those  who  have  no  other./ — COUSIN. 


THE    SCHOOL.  393 


BOOK    IV. 

THE    SCHOOL. 

"Thus,  duties  rising  out  of  good  possess'd, 
And  prudent  caution  needful  to  avert 
Impending  evil,  equally  require 
That  the  whole  people  should  be  taught  and  trained." 

"  Earth's  universal  frame  shall  feel  the  effect ; 
Even  till  the  smallest  habitable  rock, 
Beaten  by  lonely  billows,  hear  the  songs 
Of  humanized  society  ;  and  bloom 
With  civil  arts,  that  send  their  fragrance  forth, 
A  grateful  tribute  to  all-ruling  Heaven. 
From  culture,  unexclusively  bestowed, 
Expect  these  mighty  issues  ;  from  the  pains 
And  faithful  care  of  unambitious  schools, 
Instructing  simple  childhood's  ready  ear ; 
Thence  look  for  these  magnificent  results !" 

WORDSWORTH. 

IN  the  previous  chapters  I  have  spoken  of  the  general 
qualifications  and  duties  of  teachers,  and  of  the  objects  at 
which  they  should  aim  in  the  discipline  and  instruction  of 
any  school  whatever. 

In  the  chapters  whi«h  follow  I  shall  speak  particularly 
of  the  duties  of  the  teacher  of  a  district  school,  of  the  quali- 
fications which  are  to  be  deemed  essential  to  their  perform- 
ance, and  of  the  manner  in  which  each  should  be  per- 
formed. 

There  are  four  distinct  things,  or,  rather,  classes  of  oper- 
ations, which  will  command  the  teacher's  attention  on  first 
entering  a  school :  these  are, 

1 .  Organization ; 

2.  Teaching  the  great  essential  branches,  Reading,  Wri- 


394  THE    SCHOOL. 

ting,  Arithmetic,  Grammar,  Geography,  History,  Composi 
tion,  and  Accounts ; 

3.  Instruction,  or  the  communication  of  knowledge  ; 

4.  Government. 

With  these  must  be  combined,  in  as  great  a  degree  as 
possible, 

Discipline, — the  training  of  all  the  higher  powers  and 
faculties,  moral,  mental,  and  physical  ;  and 

The  formation  of  proper  habits  and  associations. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ORGANIZATION. 

"  The  general  counsels,  and  the  plots  and  marshalling  of  affairs, 
come  best  from  those  that  are  learned." — BACON. 

THE  teacher  is  to  establish  a  system  or  organization,  the 
object  of  which  is  to  prevent  irregularities,  and  to  save 
time  ;  to  enable  him  to  do  as  much  for  each,  and  for  all,  as 
possible  ;  and  to  exercise  each  pupil  according  to  his  ca- 
pacity and  advancement,  not  overtasking  him,  nor  leaving 
him  unoccupied.  This  system  should  be  comprehensive 
enough  to  embrace  all  the  operations  of  the  school,  and  so 
simple  that  all  the  children  may  be  able  to  understand  it ; 
so  that,  when  once  established,  it  shall  almost  keep  itself 
in  operation,  leaving  the  teacher  his  whole  time  for  other 
duties. 

To  this  end  it  will  be  a  great  advantage  to  a  teacher  to  be 
familiar  with  the  plans  pursued  in  one  or  more  well-organiz- 
ed schools.  If  he  be  so,  he  may  at  once  adopt  some  known 
system,  and  leave  it  to  be  modified  by  his  future  experience. 
If  he  be  not  familiar  with  any,  except  such  as  he  knows  to 
be  bad,  he  must  consider  the  matter,  and  form  one  for  him- 


ORGANIZATION.  395 

self.  The  following  are  some  of  the  things  to  be  provided 
for:  1.  General  exercises  ;  2.  The  time,  order,  and  length 
of  the  exercises  of  the  several  classes ;  3.  Interruptions ; 
4.  Recesses  ;  5.  The  punishment  of  offences. 

I.  There  should  be  at  least  one  general  exercise,  in 
which  the  whole  school  should  give  their  attention  to  tke 
teacher,  and  be  instructed  by  him  in  those  things  in  which 
it  is  possible  for  him  to  instruct  all  at  once.  And  as  there 
are  always  some  children  at  school  who  cannot  listen  long 
without  growing  weary,  it  would  be  well  that  there  should 
be  two  such  general  exercises,  both  of  them  short,  at  one 
of  which  instruction  should  be  given  in  duties,  and  at  the 
other,  useful  practical  knowledge  should  be  communicated. 
In  the  first  of  these,  all  the  usual  delinquencies  and  faults 
of  children  at  school  should  be  noticed  in  the  most  serious 
and  deliberate  manner, — in  such  a  manner,  if  possible,  as  to 
bring  the  conscience  of  the  children  to  act  upon  them. 
At  this  exercise,  also,  should  be  announced  the  genera, 
regulations  of  the  school.  Of  both  of  these  exercises  I 
have  already  spoken  in  Chap.  V.  of  the  previous  Book. 

The  best  time  for  these  must  be  determined  by  the  ex- 
perience of  the  teacher.  As  it  is  important  that  all  should 
be  present  at  them,  an  hour  should  be  chosen  at  which  all, 
or  nearly  all,  are  at  school.  If  tardiness  can  be  prevented, 
the  opening  of  school  in  the  morning  is  the  best  time  for 
the  first,  and  the  opening  of  school  in  the  afternoon  for  the 
second.  I  have  found  the  first  hour  of  the  morning  best. 
Other  teache.rs  have  found  the  time  immediately  after  re- 
cess most  suitable. 

II.  In  determining  the  time  to  be  given  to  each  particular 
class,  in  each  study,  it  will  be  well  for  a  teacher  who  goes 
into  a  school  for  the  first  time,  to  direct  his  pupils  to  come 
up  in  such  order  and  in  such  classes  as  were  formed  by  his 
predecessor.  He  will  make  them  understand  that  this  is 
only  to  enable  him  to  become  acquainted  with  the  prog- 


396  THE    SCHOOL. 

less  they  have  already  made,  and  that  he  shall  afterward 
arrange  them  as  he  finds  it  best.  It  should  then  be  his  ob- 
ject to  divide  them  into  as  few  classes  in  each  study  as 
possible.  This  is  of  the  highest  importance,  as  it  is  only 
by  this  course  that  he  will  be  able  to  find  time  to  give  them 
much  valuable  instruction,  or  even  to  do  them  justice.  Ex- 
act justice  must  be  the  basis  of  his  arrangement.  If  he 
have  fifty  scholars,  he  will  find  that,  allowing  for  the  gen- 
eral exercise,  for  recess,  and  for  necessary  interruptions,  he 
will  not  have,  in  a  session  of  three  hours,  more  than  150 
minutes  for  all  the  classes.  This  would  be,  if  they  recited 
separately,  only  three  minutes-  each.  If  the  classes  contain, 
on  an  average,  ten  each,  he  will  be  able  to  give  thirty  min- 
utes to  each  pupil ;  and  if  they  contain  fifteen  on  an  aver- 
age, the  time  to  each  pupil  will  be  forty-five  minutes.  All 
good  instruction  is  thorough.  Time  must  be  taken  to  ex- 
plain the  difficulties  in  each  lesson,  and  to  see  that  each 
pupil  masters  them.  But  the  difficulties  may  be  explained 
to  a  large  class  in  the  same  time  as  to  an  individual.  The 
number  of  subjects  to  which  the  attention  of  each  pupil 
should  be  given  on  the  same  day,  should  therefore  be  few, 
and  the  classes  as  large  as  they  can  conveniently  be  made. 
Suppose  that  Geography,  Writing,  Reading,  Grammar, 
Arithmetic,  and  Accounts,  are  to  be  attended  to  the  same 
day :  forty  are  attending  to  Geography,  all  are  writing,  all 
read,  all  attend  to  Grammar,  all  to  Arithmetic,  twenty  to 
Accounts, — and  that  all  these  lessons  are  to  be  heard,  and 
all  the  instruction  is  to  be  given,  by  one  teacher.  He  finds 
that  he  can  give  an  hour  to  Geography,  half  an  hour  to 
Writing,  an  hour  to  Reading,  an  hour  to  Grammar,  an  hour 
to  Arithmetic,  half  an  hour  to  Accounts.  He  divides  those 
learning  Geography  into  two  classes,  and  gives  half  an  hour 
to  each  class  ;  the  whole  school  may  be  engaged  in  writing 
at  once  ;  the  whole  may  read  in  four  classes,  nearly  equal, 
and  have  fifteen  minutes  each.  In  Grammar  they  may  be 


ORGANIZATION.  397 

divided  into  two  classes,  and  have  half  an  hour  each ;  in 
Arithmetic,  all  in  four  classes,  fifteen  minutes  each ;  in  Ac- 
counts, all  may  be  in  one  class,  and  have  ten  minutes  ;  there 
are  a  few  who  must  read  a  second  time  ;  for  each  of  these 
classes  a  particular  time  must  be  set,  so  that  all  may  be  pre- 
pared, and  take  their  places  on  the  floor  when  the  signal  is 
given.  I  do  not  propose  this  as  an  arrangement  to  be  ac- 
tually made,  but  only  as  an  illustration  of  the  principle  on 
which  the  time  to  be  assigned  for  each  exercise  should  be 
graduated. 

III.  The  next  thing  to  be  provided  for  in  the  general  plan 
of  organization,  is  interruptions.  These,  in  most  schools, 
are,  1.  Mending  pens  ;  2.  Giving  leave  to  whisper  or  leave 
seats  ;  3.  Explaining  sums,  and  answering  questions  in  re- 
gard to  studies  ;  4.  Tardiness,  and  hearing  excuses  for  tardi- 
ness ;  5.  Punishing  offences  as  they  occur.  Unless  these 
are  provided  for  on  general  principles,  they  will  be  contin- 
ually occurring  to  harass  the  teacher,  distract  his  attention 
from  the  proper  exercises  of  the  school,  to  overwhelm  his 
faculties,  and  wear  out  his  spirits.  "  Hundreds  and  hundreds 
of  teachers,"  says  Mr.  Abbott,  in  his  chapter  upon  this  sub- 
ject, "  in  every  part  of  our  country,  there  is  no  doubt,  have 
all  these  crowding  upon  them  from  morning  to  night,  with- 
out cessation,  except  perhaps  some  accidental  and  moment- 
ary respite.  During  the  winter  months,  while  the  principal 
common  schools  in  our  country  are  in  operation,  it  is  sad  to 
reflect  how  many  teachers  come  home,  every  evening,  with 
bewildered  and  aching  heads,  having  been  vainly  trying  all 
the  day  to  do  six  things  at  a  time,  while  He  who  made 
the  human  mind  has  determined  that  it  shall  do  but  one. 
How  many  become  discouraged  and  disheartened  by  what 
they  consider  the  unavoidable  trials  of  a  teacher's  life,  and 
give  up  in  despair,  just  because  their  faculties  will  not  sus- 
tain a  sixfold  task."* 

*  For  many  of  the  ideas  in  regard  to  irregularities,  I  am  indebted 
to  the  chapter  above  referred  to. 


398  THE    SCHOOL. 

1.  Mending  pens.    The  teacher  should  never  take  school- 
time  to  make  or  mend  pens.     If  he  choose  to  do  this  for 
the  whole  school,  he  should  do  it  out  of  school  hours,  and 
should  bring  with  him  a  sufficient  number  to  serve  the  school. 
These  should  be  distributed  just  before  the  time  for  writing, 
by  one  or  more  persons  appointed  for  the  purpose.     Chil- 
dren should  not  be  allowed  to  be  very  particular  in  regard 
to  their  pens,  but  be  made  to  understand  that  it  is  important 
that  they  should  early  accustom  themselves  to  be  content 
with  tolerable  pens. 

Every  pupil  sufficiently  advanced  should  be  taught  to 
make  and  mend  pens.  This  is  almost  as  important  as  the 
use  of  them.  Some  time  should  therefore  be  assigned  for 
lessons  in  pen-making ;  and  to  give  them  the  practice  which 
alone  makes  perfect,  the  duty  of  making  and  mending  pens 
for  the  whole  school  should  be  assigned  to  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  competent  pupils,  who,  after  having  served  a  stated 
time,  should  be  succeeded  by  another  set.  The  pen-makers 
for  the  time  might  be  allowed  to  pass  among  the  writers  at 
intervals,  and  mend  such  pens  as  absolutely  required  it. 

2.  Whispering  and  leaving   seats.      Some  intercourse 
among  children  in  school  must  be  allowed,  and  occasionally 
it  is  necessary  for  them  to  leave  their  seats.     "  How,  then," 
asks  Mr.  Abbott,  "  can  the  teacher  regulate  this  practice  so 
as  to  prevent  the  evils  which  will  otherwise  flow  from  it, 
without  being  continually  interrupted  by  the  request  for  per- 
mission ?     By  a  very  simple  method.     Appropriate  particu- 
lar times  at  which  all  this  business  is  to  be  done,  and  forbid 
it  altogether  at  every  other  time.     It  is  well,  on  other  accounts, 
to  give  the  pupils  of  a  school  a  little  respite,  at  least  every 
hour ;  and  if  this  is  done,  an  intermission  of  study  for  two 
minutes  each  time  will  be  sufficient.     During  this  time,  gen- 
eral permission  should  be  given  to  speak  or  to  leave  seats, 
provided  they  do  nothing  at  such  a  time  to  disturb  the  stud- 
ies of  others."     "  It,  of  course,  will  require  some  little  time, 


ORGANIZATION.  399 

and  no  little  firmness,  to  establish  the  new  order  of  things, 
where  a  school  has  been  accustomed  to  another  course  ; 
but  where  this  is  once  done,  I  know  no  one  plan  so  simple 
and  so  easily  put  into  execution,  which  will  do  so  much 
towards  relieving  the  teacher  of  the  distraction  and  perplex- 
ity of  his  pursuits." 

In  making  the  change,  Mr.  Abbott  thinks  it  essential  to 
get  the  co-operation  of  the  majority  of  the  school.  This 
may  be  done  by  stating  to  them  the  difficulty,  embarrass- 
ment, and  loss  of  time  occasioned  by  the  common  course, 
and  proposing  to  them  the  new  plan,  if  they  are  willing  to 
aid  him  in  introducing  it.  He  recommends  a  rest  of  two 
minutes  at  the  end  of  every  half  hour,  during  which  they 
may  leave  their  seats  and  whisper ;  or  it  may  be  three  min- 
utes at  the  end  of  every  hour. 

If  a  majority  be  in  favour  of  it,  success  may  be  relied  on, 
notwithstanding  a  minority  which  will  probably  be  against 
it,  and  which  must  be  dealt  with  by  other  methods.  A  great 
recommendation  of  thus  inviting  the  co-operation  of  the  stu- 
dents themselves,  in  this  as  in  many  other  cases,  is,  that  it 
exercises  them  in  the  habit  of  self-government ;  a  habit 
which  we  should,  in  every  way,  endeavour  to  establish  in 
our  pupils. 

"  You  cannot  reasonably  expect,  however,  that  your  plan 
will  at  once  go  into  full  and  complete  operation.  Even 
those  who  are  firmly  determined  to  keep  the  rule,  will,  from 
inadvertence,  for  a  day  or  two,  hold  communication  with 
each  other.  They  must  be  trained,  not  by  threatening  and 
punishment,  but  by  your  good-humoured  assistance,  to  their 
new  duties."  "  In  my  own  school,  it  required  two  or  three 
weeks  to  exclude  whispering  and  communication  by  signs. 
The  period  necessary  to  effect  the  revolution  will  be  longer 
or  shorter,  according  to  the  circumstances  of  the  school  and 
the  dexterity  of  the  teacher.  And,  after  all,,  the  teacher 
must  not  hope  entirely  to  exclude  it.  Approximation  to  ex- 
cellence is  all  that  we  can  expect." 


400 


THE    SCHOOL. 


"  In  order  to  mark  more  definitely  the  times  for  commu- 
nication, I  wrote,  in  large  letters,  on  a  piece  of  pasteboard, 
4  STUDY  HOURS,'  and  making  a  hole  over  the  centre  of  it, 
1  hung  it  upon  a  nail  over  my  desk.  At  the  close  of  each 
half  hour,  a  little  bell  was  to  be  struck,  and  this  card  was  to 
be  taken  down.  When  it  was  up,  they  were,  on  no  occa- 
sion whatever,  except  some  such  occurrence  as  sickness,  to 
speak  to  each  other,  but  were  to  wait,  whatever  they  want- 
ed, until  the  Study-card,  as  they  called  it,  was  taken  down." 
"  The  following  simple  apparatus  has  been  used  in  sev- 
eral schools  where  this  principle  has  been  adopted  : 

"  The  figure  a  a  a  a  is  a  board,  about  18  inches  by  12,  to 
be  nailed  against  the  wall,  at  the  height 
of  about  8  feet ;  b  c  d  c  is  a  plate  of  tin 
or  brass,  8  inches  by  12,  of  the  form 
represented  in  the  drawing.  At  c  c  the 
metal  is  bent  round,  so  as  to  clasp  a 
wire  which  runs  from  c  to  c,  the  ends 
of  which  wire  are  bent  at  right  angles, 
and  run  into  the  board.  The  plate  will 
consequently  turn  on  this  axis  as  on  a 
hinge.  At  the  top  of  the  plate,  d,  a 
small  projection  of  the  tin  turns  inward, 
and  to  this  one  end  of  the  cord  m  m 
is  attached.  This  cord  passes  back 
from  d  to  a  small  pulley  at  the  upper 
part  of  the  board,  and  at  the  lower  end 
of  it  a  tassel,  loaded  so  as  to  be  an  ex- 
act counterpoise  to  the  card,  is  attach- 
ed. By  raising  the  tassel,  the  plate 
will,  of  course,  fall  over  forward  till  it 
is  stopped  by  the  part  b  striking  the 
board,  when  it  will  be  in  a  horizontal 
position.  On  the  other  hand,  by  pulling  down  the  tassel, 
the  plate  will  be  raised  and  drawn  upward  against  the  board, 


ORGANIZATION.  401 

so  as  to  present  its  convex  surface,  with  the  words  STTJDY 
HOURS  upon  it,  distinctly  to  the  school.  In  the  drawing  it 
is  represented  in  an  inclined  position,  being  not  quite  drawn 
up,  that  the  parts  might  more  easily  be  seen.  At  d  there 
is  a  small  projection  of  the  tin  upward,  which  touches  the 
clapper  of  the  bell  suspended  above  every  time  the  plate 
passes  up  or  down,  and  thus  gives  notice  of  its  motions." 

The  above  is  recommended  as  an  expedient,  the  excel- 
lence of  which  has  been  tested  by  experience,  to  reduce  to 
system  the  necessary  communication  between  children  at 
school,  and  to  prevent  its  being  a  source  of  interruption  and 
confusion.  It  may  doubtless  be  introduced  with  great  ad- 
vantage into  many  schools,  especially  large  ones. 

In  an  advanced  school  of  a  limited  number  of  pupils,  sel- 
dom exceeding  fifty  in  one  room,  I  have  found  no  serious 
inconvenience  from  allowing  two  engaged  in  the  same 
studies  to  sit  side  by  side,  and  to  converse  in  whisper  when 
no  class  was  reciting.  The  penalty,  seldom  enforced,  of 
abuse  of  the  privilege,  was  separation.  My  system,  how- 
ever, has  been  to  impose  no  restraints  except  such  as  were 
necessary,  and  to  make  school,  as  far  as  I  could,  in  all  re- 
spects a  preparation  for  life,  and,  therefore,  to  induce  habits 
of  self-control  in  the  midst  of  temptation. 

3.  Explaining  sums,  and  answering  questions  in  regard 
to  lessons.  If  children  are  at  all  times  allowed  to  ask  any 
questions  they  please,  the  teacher  will  be  able  to  do  little 
else  than  answer  them.  Some  system  must  therefore  be 
adopted  in  regard  to  questions.  The  following  directions 
may  serve  to  prevent,  in  a  considerable  degree,  interruptions 
of  this  kind.  Before  assigning  any  lesson,  you  should  have 
learned  it  perfectly  yourself.  You  will  then  easily  antici- 
pate the  difficulties  that  are  likely  to  occur,  and  explain 
them  at  the  time  of  setting  the  lesson.  For  classes  in  Arith- 
metic, and  often  in  other  things,  they  should  be  done  on  the 
blackboard.  Still  some  difficulties  remain  which  you  did 
LL2 


402  THE    SCHOOL. 

not  anticipate.  These  must  be  allowed  to  remain  till  the 
time  of  recitation ;  and  the  first  part  of  the  time  assigned 
for  each  recitation  may  be  spent  in  answering  questions. 
In  this,  however,  discretion  must  be  used,  and  the  pupils 
must  be  made  to  understand  how  much  better  it  is  to  sur- 
mount difficulties  themselves  than  to  have  them  removed. 
While  a  class  is  reciting,  no  questions  should  be  allowed  to 
be  asked  by  the  rest  of  the  school ;  but  between  each  two 
recitations  there  may  be  an  interval  for  that  purpose. 

To  prevent  the  necessity  of  answering  questions  in  re- 
gard to  the  length  of  lessons,  all  the  lessons  for  a  week 
may  be  assigned  at  once,  and  the  pupils  be  directed  to 
mark  them,  each  in  his  own  book. 

4.  Tardiness,  and  hearing  excuses  for  tardiness.  To 
prevent  tardiness,  it  may  often  be  sufficient  to  require  the 
individual  to  remain  after  school  a  length  of  time  equal  to 
his  tardiness.  Excuses  for  tardiness  should  be  heard  only 
after  school  is  done.  That  the  tardy  may  not  escape,  some 
trusty  pupil  should  be  charged  with  the  office  of  noting  all 
instances  of  tardiness,  and  reporting  them  at  a  suitable  sta- 
ted time. 

In  some  schools  in  Boston,  tardiness  is  prevented  by 
subjecting  a  child  who  is  tardy  to  the  loss  of  all  his  credit 
marks,  as  if  he  were  absent.  In  some  other  towns  in  Mas- 
sachusetts, rules  have  been  adopted  by  the  school  commit 
tee  to  close  the  door  at  five  minutes  past  the  hour  for  be- 
ginning school,  refusing  admission  to  all  who  come  after- 
ward. To  prevent  tardiness,  however,  falls  within  the 
province  of  committees  and  parents.  Washington's  maxim 
should  be  imprinted  on  the  mind  of  all.  "  Appointments 
are  debts.  I  owe  punctuality  if  I  have  made  an  appoint- 
ment, and  have  no  right  to  throw  away  another's  time,  if  I 
do  my  own." 

It  would,  perhaps,  be  well  to  allow  the  door  to  be  opened 
only  every  half  hour.  Those  who  come  late  would  thus  be 


ORGANIZATION.  403 

prevented  from  disturbing  the  classes.  An  exact  record  of 
tardiness  and  absence  should  be  kept,  and  exhibited  to  the 
committee  or  superintendent. 

5.  Punishing  offences  as  they  occur.  This  should  sel- 
dom be  done.  The  teacher  should  have  a  record-book  or 
note-book  always  near  him,  and  should  only  note  the  of- 
fence, and  indicate  to  the  offender  that  he  does  so.  He 
must  take  occasion  at  one  of  the  general  lessons  to  speak 
upon  it  if  it  be  a  general  offence ;  and  if  it  be  one  that  re- 
quires specific  punishment,  he  should  deal  with  the  offender 
alone,  and  some  time  after  the  offence  is  committed.  The 
time  immediately  after  school,  morning  or  evening,  may  be 
assigned  for  this  purpose. 

Another  source  of  interruption  occurs  in  some  places,  in 
the  entrance  of  visiters.  If  possible,  this  should  never  be 
allowed  to  prove  an  interruption,  but  the  business  of  the 
school  should  go  on  as  usual. 

IV.  The  fourth  thing  to  be  foreseen  and  provided  for  in  the 
organization  is  the  Recesses.    These  should  equally  divide 
the  session,  and  should  be  made  long  enough  for  all  the 
children,  each  sex  in  its  turn,  to  go  deliberately  out,  take  a 
little  air,  and  return.     The  shortest  time  to  be  allowed  is 
five  minutes  for  each  sex.     Ten  would  be  better,  as  the 
time  need  not  be  lost,  but  may  be  employed  by  the  teacher 
in  attending  to  matters  that  need  not  the  presence  of  the 
whole  school.     In  schools  which  have  a  session  of  five 
hours  or  more,  half  an  hour's  recess  is  not  too  long.     Ad- 
vantage should  be  taken  of  this  time  to  ventilate  the  room 
by  throwing  open  the  windows,  unless  the  room  be  thor- 
oughly ventilated  by  some  other  process. 

V.  The  fifth  thing  is  Government,  and  the  punishment 
for  offences.      Of  the  principles  of  government  we  shall 
have  occasion  to  speak  hereafter. 

In  regard  to  these  several  points,  the  teacher  should  have 
the  principles  of  his  course  arranged  beforehand.  I  propose 


404  THE    SCHOOL. 

the  following  plan,  to  be  followed  or  to  be  modified,  accord- 
ing to  the  views  and  experience  of  the  teacher. 

8  o'clock.  Children  to  be  in  their  places  at  the  hour  as- 
signed. The  exercises  to  begin  with  reading  a  few  verses 
from  the  Gospels  or  some  other  part  of  the  Bible,  a  few 
serious  words  upon  the  duty  taught,  followed  by  a  short 
prayer. 

8h.  10'.  First  lessons  of  the  morning,  prepared  the  even- 
ing previous,  to  continue  each  10',  15',  or  30',  according  to 
the  importance  of  the  lesson  and  the  number  of  the  class. 

8h.  40'.  Two  minutes  for  whispering,  leaving  seats,  and 
asking  and  answering  questions. 

8h.  42'.  Lessons  for  28'. 

9h.  10'.  Two  minutes  rest. 

9h.  12'.  Lesson  for  28'. 

9h.  40'.  Recess  for  10'. 

9h.  50'.  General  lesson  on  duties  and  natural  laws,  10' 
to  20'. 

lOh.  or  lOh.  10'.  Lessons  for  30'. 

lOh.  30'  or  40'.  Two  minutes  rest. 

lOh.  32'  or  42'.  Lessons  till  11.  10'  for  settling  difficul- 
ties with  individuals. 

A  similar  course  for  the  afternoon. 

I  cannot  advise  a  rigid  adherence  to  any  exact  course. 
The  successive  lessons  in  every  branch  vary  in  difficulty 
and  in  interest.  One  may  be  despatched  in  fifteen  minutes, 
and  the  next  will  require  half  an  hour.  It  often  happens 
that  a  class  has  just  become  engaged  in  a  lesson  when  the 
usual  tune  to  conclude  it  arrives.  In  such  a  case,  it  will  be 
better  to  omit  the  succeeding  exercise  altogether  than  to  cut 
the  one  before  you  short.  Valuable  instruction  is  a  thing 
rather  to  be  weighed  than  measured.  Still,  method  and 
regularity  are  so  important  in  a  school,  that  they  should  in 
no  case  be  departed  from  without  necessity. 


GENERAL  PRINCIPLES.  405 


CHAPTER  II. 

INSTRUCTION.       GENERAL    PRINCIPLES. 

"  The  ART  of  EDUCATION,  that  noblest  but  least  studied  of  all  the 
arts." — BROWN. 

THE  first  inquiries  you  are  to  make  on  entering  a  school 
are,  as  has  been  said,  What  is  the  state  of  this  school  ?  Of 
each  of  the  classes,  and  of  each  individual  ?  How  well  does 
he  read,  write,  and  cipher  now  1  What  are  his  habits  of 
mind  ?  What  is  his  character  ?  What  can  I  do  for  him  in 
the  time  he  is  to  remain  under  my  care  ?  How  shall  I 
teach  him  to  read  so  readily,  fluently,  and  intelligently,  as  to 
excite  a  love  of  reading,  which  will  open  to  him  an  inex- 
haustible source  of  good,  and  of  enjoyment  for  his  whole  fu- 
ture life  ?  How  shall  I  teach  him  the  art  of  Writing,  so  that 
it  shall  be  ever  after  a  pleasure  to  him  to  write, — both  to  form 
the  letters,  and  to  express  his  thoughts  1  How  shall  I  give 
him  such  a  practical  familiarity  with  the  essential  rules  of 
Arithmetic  as  shall  enable  and  induce  him  to  apply  them 
constantly  in  his  business  ?  And  in  performing  these  es- 
sential parts  of  a  schoolmaster's  duty,  how  shall  I  give  him 
the  greatest  amount  in  my  power  of  useful  information  ; 
bring  the  faculties  of  his  mind  into  action,  and  elevate  his 
moral  character  ?  How,  in  short,  shall  1  best  prepare  him 
for  his  station  in  life,  and  do  what  in  me  lies  to  make  him  a 
useful  citizen,  and  a  good  and  happy  man  ?  These  things 
are  to  be  accomplished,  not  for  one  only,  but  for  all. 

Consider,  then,  the  ground  before  you,  and  lay  your  plans 
for  doing  as  much  and  as  well  for  each  and  all  as  can  be 
done  in  the  time  allotted  you.  One  great  object  in  exe- 
cuting your  plans  is  to  discover  how  to  act  most  efficiently 


406  THE    SCHOOL. 

on  the  greatest  number  at  a  time.  Your  power  of  useful 
action  is  increased  just  in  proportion  to  the  number  on 
whom  you  can  act  at  once.  Hear  what  our  experienced 
and  sagacious  friend  says  upon  this  point : 

"  The  extent  to  which  a  teacher  may  multiply  his  power, 
by  acting  on  numbers  at  a  time,  is  very  great.  In  order  to 
estimate  it,  we  must  consider  carefully  what  it  is,  when 
carried  to  the  greatest  extent  to  which  it  is  capable  of  be- 
ing carried,  under  the  most  favourable  circumstances.  Now 
it  is  possible  for  a  teacher  to  speak  so  as  to  be  easily  heard 
by  three  hundred  persons,  and  three  hundred  pupils  can  be 
easily  so  seated  as  to  see  his  illustrations  or  diagrams. 
Now  suppose  that  three  hundred  pupils,  all  ignorant  of  the 
method  of  reducing  fractions  to  a  common  denominator, 
and  yet  all  old  enough  to  learn,  are  collected  in  one  room. 
Suppose  they  are  all  attentive  and  desirous  of  learning,  it  is 
very  plain  that  the  process  may  be  explained  to  the  whole 
at  once,  so  that  half  an  hour  spent  in  that  exercise,  would 
enable  a  very  large  proportion  of  them  to  understand  the 
subject.  So,  if  a  teacher  is  explaining  to  a  class  in  Gram- 
mar the  difference  between  a  noun  and  a  verb,  the  explana- 
tion would  do  as  well  for  several  hundred  as  for  the  dozen 
who  constitute  the  class,  if  arrangements  could  only  be 
made  to  have  the  hundreds  hear  it."  "  Now,  so  far  as  we 
fall  short  of  this  full  benefit,  so  far  there  is,  of  course,  waste ; 
and  it  is  not  difficult  or  impossible  to  make  such  arrange- 
ments as  will  avoid  the  waste,  in  this  manner,  of  a  large 
portion  of  every  effort  which  the  teacher  makes." 

"  Always  bear  in  mind,  then,  when  you  are  devoting  your 
time  to  two  or  three  individuals  in  a  class,  that  you  are  losing 
a  very  large  part  of  your  labour.  Your  instructions  are  con- 
ducive to  good  effect  only  to  the  one  tenth  or  one  twentieth 
of  the  extent  to  which,  under  more  favourable  circumstances, 
they  might  be  made  available.  And  though  you  cannot  al- 
ways avoid  this  loss,  you  ought  always  to  be  aware  of  it 


GENERAL    PRINCIPLES.  407 

and  so  to  shape  your  measures  as  to  diminish  it  as  much 
as  possible." — ABBOTT'S  TEACHER. 

There  are  several  general  principles,  founded  in  nature 
and  deduced  from  observation,  but  too  often  overlooked, 
which  should  be  our  guides  in  teaching,  and  of  which  we 
should  never  lose  sight. 

1 .  Whatever  we  are  teaching,  the  attention  should  be  arous- 
ed and  fixed,  the  faculties  of  the  mind  occupied,  and  as  many 
of  them  as  possible  brought  into  action.  Nothing  is  learned 
unless  the  attention  is  gained,  and  the  habit  of  commanding 
it  throughout  a  lesson  is  more  important  than  the  lesson  it- 
self, whatever  that  may  be.  Moreover,  the  greater  the 
number  of  faculties  engaged  upon  an  object,  the  deeper  and 
more  permanent  will  be  the  impression.  At  the  end  of  a 
child's  very  first  lesson,  he  should  be  asked,  "  What  have 
you  been  reading  about  ?"  and  should  be  made  to  answer. 
This  should  be  uniformly  done  at  every  lesson.  It  turns 
the  child's  faculties  to  the  lesson,  and  prevents  its  becoming 
what  it  will  otherwise  be  likely  to  become,  almost  a  merely 
mechanical  exercise. 

In  order  to  command  the  attention,  you  must  awaken  the 
interest  of  the  child,  and  to  do  this  you  must  first  be  inter- 
ested  yourself.  If  you  feel  interested,  your  manner  will  ex- 
press it,  and  you  will  have  that  vivacity  of  mind  and  of 
manner  which  are  essential  to  successful  teaching.  Your 
interest  will  thus  communicate  itself  to  your  pupil.  You 
must  also  awaken  his  interest  by  beginning  with  what  he 
knows  and  what  interests  his  feelings,  and  connecting 
gradually  with  it  what  is  new  or  difficult  in  the  subject  to 
be  taught.  You  will  thus  clothe  it  with  agreeable  associ- 
ations, and  make  him  desire  to  know  what  he  feels  will  be 
pleasant,  and  enable  him  easily  to  remember  what  has  al- 
ready taken  some  hold  of  his  affections. 

Then  you  must  contrive  to  give  a  child  something  to  do 
himself.  Engage  him  in  conversation  ;  lead  him  to  ask,  as 


408  THE    SCHOOL. 

well  as  answer,  questions  ;  and  be  careful  not  to  let  your 
own  words  lose  their  animation,  and  become  mere  lecturing. 

2.  "Divide  and  subdivide  a  difficult  process,  until  your  steps 
are  so  short  that  the  pupil  can  easily  take  them."*  This  is 
the  secret  of  that  best  of  all  schoolbooks,  Colburn's  First 
Lessons.  It  was  the  great  discovery  of  Pestalozzi.  It 
may  be  applied  to  every  study  which  is  necessary  for  chil- 
dren ;  and  teachers  differ  in  no  one  particular  so  strikingly 
as  in  a  talent  for  applying  this  principle.  Some  possess 
it  almost  by  intuition.  They  sit  down  by  a  child,  and  make 
him  comprehend  almost  anything  they  please,  by  reducing 
it  to  its  simplest  elements,  and  presenting  them  one  by  one, 
in  their  natural  order.  This  talent  may  be  acquired.  It 
depends  on  a  complete  knowledge  of  the  subject  to  be 
taught,  in  all  its  bearings,  and  of  the  capacity  of  the  child. 
Any  one,  therefore,  who  will  take  the  pains  to  make  him- 
self master  of  what  he  wants  to  teach,  and  to  enter  into  the 
character  of  the  pupil,  may  be  able  to  attain  it.  The  pos- 
session of  this  talent  is  what  we  call  aptness  to  teach.  Its 
exercise  requires  patience,  and  a  willingness  to  adapt  our 
explanations  to  the  imperfect  capacity  and  limited  vocabu- 
lary of  the  child.  When,  in  our  explanations,  we  want  to 
use  a  word  which  the  child  does  not  know,  we  may  do  it 
without  hesitation  if  we  do  it  so  as  to  show  the  child,  at 
the  time,  what  the  word  does  mean. 

Suppose  you  wished  to  explain  to  a  class  this  sentence 
in  Worcester's  Geography,  which  I  select  purposely  be- 
cause it  is  the  most  difficult  in  the  volume  for  a  child  to 
understand,  and  which,  therefore,  instead  of  being,  as  it 
sometimes  is,  part  of  a  lesson,  is  quite  sufficient  for  a  whole 
lesson,  or  even  several.  It  affords  a  very  suitable  lesson 
for  one,  or  perhaps  two  or  three,  of  the  general  exercises. 

"  The  annual  revolution  of  the  earth  round  the  sun,  in 

*  Abbott's  Teacher,  p.  94. 


GENERAL    PRINCIPLES.  409 

connexion  with  the  obliquity  of  the  ecliptic,  occasions  the 
succession  of  the  four  seasons." 

The  class  are  supposed  to  be  totally  ignorant  of  what- 
ever relates  to  Astronomy ;  everything  must  therefore  be 
communicated.  Those  things  only  can  be  asked  with 
which  some  of  the  pupils  are  probably  acquainted. 

Here  are  several  distinct  circumstances  to  be  explained 
separately  and  in  simple  language.  Use  must  also  be  made 
of  some  apparatus ;  of  two  balls  to  represent  the  sun  and 
earth ;  or,  if  there  are  none  to  be  had,  an  orange  and  an 
apple  may  take  their  place. 

The  distinct  things  to  be  explained  are, 

1 .  What  is  the  succession  of  the  seasons  ; 

2.  What  is  the  obliquity  of  the  ecliptic  ; 

3.  What  is  annual  revolution ; 

4.  The  meaning  of  occasions  and  the  other  unusual  words. 
"  What   are   the   seasons  ?"  you  may  ask.     "  All  who 

know  may  hold  up  their  hands."  All  hands  are  up.  Some 
individual  is  told  to  answer,  and  says,  "  Spring,  Summer, 
Autumn,  and  Winter." 

"  What  is  meant  by  the  succession  of  the  seasons  ?" 

"  First  comes  Spring ;  then  Summer ;  then  Autumn ;  then 
Winter." 

"  What  is  the  difference  in  the  seasons  ?" 

"  In  Summer  it  is  very  hot." 

"  And  what  is  it  in  Autumn  ?" 

"  Then  it  begins  to  be  cold.  In  Winter  it  is  very  cold ; 
in  Spring  it  begins  to  be  warm  again." 

"  What  makes  it  hot  in  Summer  ?" 

"  The  sun." 

"  Is  it  nearer  to  us  in  Summer  ?"  Some  of  the  children 
answer  "  yes,"  some  say  nothing. 

The  teacher  would  say  "  No.  The  sun  is  not  nearer 
then  than  in  winter,  but  he  shines  more  directly  upon  that 
side  of  the  earth  on  which  we  live,  which  is  called  the 
MM 


410  THE    SCHOOL. 

northern  half  of  the  earth.  It  is  that  which  makes  it  hot- 
ter. If  I  hold  my  hand  to  the  fire  thus,  directly,  you  see 
that  it  is  warmed  much  more  than  when  I  hold  it  thus,  ob- 
liquely. Now  in  Summer  the  sun  shines  on  our  side  of 
the  earth  more  directly,  which  makes  it  hotter,  and  in  Win- 
ter he  shines  more  obliquely,  which  leaves  it  cold. 

"  Now,  if  I  thrust  a  wire  through  this  apple,  thus,  it  may 
represent  the  earth.  The  wire. projects,  as  you  see,  at  each 
end,  and  I  can  make  the  apple  turn  thus  on  the  wire.  Just 
so  turns  the  earth  round  and  round  continually  on  its  axis, 
only  the  axis  of  the  earth  is  not  real, — there  is  no  wire 
thrust  through  it.  The  hand  of  God  makes  it  turn  on  its 
axis ;  but  the  axis  is  imaginary, — it  cannot  be  seen, — it  is 
not  real.  These  ends  of  the  wire  represent  the  poles,  only 
there  are  no  real  poles  to  the  earth. 

"  Let  that  orange,  which  is  still  or  stationary  on  the  ta- 
ble, represent  the  sun.  As  I  move  the  earth  round  it,  you 
see  the  wire  points  always  in  one  direction.  Just  so  the 
imaginary  axis  of  our  real  earth  points  always  in  one  direc- 
tion. Now,  in  this  position,  this  end,  which  I  call  the 
northern,  is  turned  from  the  sun,  so  that  the  heat  and  light  from 
the  sun  fall  obliquely  upon  this  part,  which  represents  the 
side  of  the  earth  on  which  we  live.  This  position  repre- 
sents Winter  ;  our  side  is  turned  somewhat  away  from  the 
sun,  and  it  is  cold  here,  because  less  heat  falls  upon  us. 
Now,  again,  in  this  position,  the  north  pole  is  turned  just  as 
much  towards  the  sun  as  the  south,  and  it  begins  to  be  warm, 
because  the  heat  begins  to  fall  more  directly  on  that  part  on 
which  we  live. 

"  And  now,  in  this  position,  when  the  earth  has  gone 
half  round  the  sun,  you  see  the  north  side  most  turned  to- 
wards the  sun,  and  it  is  warmer  on  our  side,  because  the 
heat  of  the  sun  is  more  direct.  Now  it  is  Summer. 

"  Now,  again,  in  this  position,  the  north  and  south  side 
are  turned  equally  towards  the  sun.  It  begins  to  be  cold, 


GENERAL    PRINCIPLES. 

because  the  heat  of  the  sun  comes  less  directly,  and  this  is 
Autumn.  So,  you  see,  the  turning  of  the  earth  round  the  sun 
once  in  a  year,  with  its  axis  turned  part  of  the  time  a  lit- 
tle from  the  sun  and  part  of  the  time  a  little  towards  it,  but 
always  directed  to  the  same  part  of  the  heavens,  makes 
first  the  Winter,  then  the  Spring,  then  the  Summer,  then  the 
Autumn  :  and  that  is  what  Mr.  Worcester  means  when  he 
says,  '  The  annual  revolution  of  the  earth  round  the  sun,  in 
connexion  with  the  obliquity  of  the  ecliptic,  occasions  the 
succession  of  the  four  seasons.'  For  this  circle  (moving 
the  earth  round  the  sun)  is  called  the  path  of  the  earth  in 
the  ecliptic." 

At  the  next  general  lesson  precisely  the  same  course 
may  be  gone  through,  except  that  now  the  teacher  calls  upon 
the  pupils  to  state,  as  he  proceeds,  what  is  the  position,  and 
what  are  the  consequences  of  it.  For  example,  having 
reached  the  point  where  the  children  were  at  a  loss  on  the 
previous  day,  he  asks,  "  Is  the  sun  nearer  to  us  in  Sum- 
mer ?"  They  are  now  prepared  to  say  "  No ;  but  his  heat 
falls  more  directly  upon  us  :"  and  so  on  to  the  end  of  the 
lesson. 

On  the  third  day,  if  he  choose  to  give  another  lesson  to 
this  subject  (and  it  is  well  worth  it),  he  lets  one  of  the  pu- 
pils take  the  apple  and  go  through  the  positions,  or  several 
of  them  in  succession,  asking  still  the  same  questions,  and 
now  expecting  the  whole  class  to  join  in  the  answers. 
This  repetition  is  an  illustration  of  the  third  rule,  whiqh  is, 

3.  Whatever  is  learned,  let  it  be  made  familiar  by  repeti- 
tion, until  it  is  deeply  and  permanently  fixed  in  the  mind. 
This  is  an  old  rule,  well  known,  from  the  most  ancient  times, 
to  faithful  teachers  and  careful  learners.  It  is,  nevertheless, 
liable  to  be  neglected,  from  a  feeling  that  there  is  so  much 
more  to  learn  which  will  be  entirely  new.  The  faithful  ap- 
plication of  this  principle  makes  thorough  teaching, — the 
best  kind  of  teaching,  certainly,  since  a  few  things  well 


412  THE    SCHOOL. 

known  are  of  more  use  than  many  things  superficially 
glanced  at.  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  in  the  beginning 
of  a  study,  when  everything  about  it  is  new ;  the  thoughts 
are  new,  and  require  an  unaccustomed  use  of  the  faculties 
of  the  mind  ;  and  the  language  is  new  as  the  words  of  a  for- 
eign tongue.  The  progress  of  the  learner  may  seem  slow 
at  first,  and  so  indeed  it  is,  and  so  it  should  be.  But  the 
complete  command  of  the  elementary  and  leading  ideas  of 
the  subject  which  is  thus  gained,  ensures  a  rapid,  easy,  and 
satisfactory  progress  afterward.  When  the  elementary 
truths  and  first  principles  are  well-learned  and  made  famil- 
iar, they  should  be  constantly  referred  to,  and  the  learner 
should  be  accustomed  to  trace  back  to  them  whatever  he 
afterward  learns. 

"  The  exercises  which  have  for  their  object  this  render- 
ing familiar  what  has  been  learned,  may  be  so  varied  as  to 
interest  the  pupil  very  much,  instead  of  being  tiresome,  as 
it  might  at  first  be  supposed. 

"  Suppose,  for  instance,  a  teacher  has  explained  to  a  large 
class  in  Grammar  the  difference  between  an  adjective  and 
an  adverb.  If  he  leave  it  here,  in  a  fortnight  one  half  would 
have  forgotten  the  distinction,  but  by  dwelling  upon  it  a  few 
lessons  he  may  fix  it  forever.  The  first  lesson  might  be  to 
write  twenty  short  sentences  containing  only  adjectives  ; 
the  second  to  write  twenty  containing  only  adverbs  ;  the 
third  to  write  sentences  in  two  forms,  one  containing  the 
adjective,  and  the  other  expressing  the  same  idea  by  means 
of  the  adverb,  arranging  them  in  two  columns,  thus : 
He  writes  well.  |  His  writing  is  good. 

"  Again,  they  may  make  out  a  list  of  adjectives,  with  the 
adverbs  derived  from  each,  in  another  column.  Then  they 
may  classify  adverbs  -on  the  principle  of  their  meaning,  or 
according  to  their  termination.  The  exercise  may  be  infi- 
nitely varied,  and  yet  the  object  of  the  whole  may  be  to  make 
perfectly  familiar,  and  to  fix  forever  in  the  mind  the  dis- 
tinction explained." 


GENERAL   PRINCIPLES.  413 

Nearly  allied  to  this,  and  the  best  method  of  enforcing  it 
in  many  studies,  is  the  rule, 

4.  Insist  -upon  every  lesson's  being  learned  so  perfectly  that 
it  shall  be  repeated,  as  everything  in  a  large  school  should  be 
done,  without  the  least  hesitation.  This  must  be  insisted 
upon  in  lessons  to  be  repeated  from  memory,  as  in  lessons 
in  the  Tables,  in  Geometry,  or  lines  in  poetry.  The  ob- 
servance of  this  rule  is  an  incalculable  saving  of  time.  It 
is  only  by  insisting  strenuously  upon  it  that  a  single  teacher 
can  accomplish  much  in  a  large  school.  It  cannot,  however, 
be  safely  applied  in  the  case  of  very  young  scholars,  or  be- 
ginners, at  any  age,  as  in  them  the  organs  and  the  faculties 
are  untrained  and  necessarily  slow. 

A  contrasted  case  may  suffice  to  illustrate  its  value.  In 
a  school  where  the  practice  is  allowed  of  learning  lessons 
and  doing  things  pretty  well,  a  class  is  called  to  recite  a  les- 
son in  Geometry.  They  come  straggling  along,  and  at  last 
form  a  line  before  the  blackboard,  if  that  can  be  called  a  line 
which  is  neither  straight  nor  regular.  One  is  called  on  to 
draw  the  figure.  He  has  to  look  into  the  book  to  see  what 
figure  it  is,  to  pause  to  consider  how  it  is  to  be  drawn,  and 
to  reflect  as  to  what  letters  he  shall  attach  to  it.  A  sec- 
ond is  called  to  state  the  proposition.  He  does  not  remem- 
ber how  it  begins  ;  begins  wrong,  is  corrected,  and  obliged 
to  begin  again  ;  observes  modestly  to  his  teacher,  that,  if  he 
will  just  give  him  the  first  word,  he  believes  he  knows  what 
comes  next.  After  several  blunders,  he  succeeds  in  sta- 
ting something  like  the  truth  to  be  proved.  A  third  begins 
the  demonstration,  and  stammers  on  in  uncertainty  and  con- 
fusion, apologizing  by  saying,  that  if  he  had  begun  the  les- 
son, he  could  have  gone  on  very  well,  but  that  he  was  con- 
fused by  beginning  where  he  did.  Thus  they  limp  on  te- 
diously, and  with  great  loss  of  time  and  patience,  and  often 
with  a  hearty  hatred  of  the  study. 

What  happens  in  a  school  where  this  rule  is  carried  into 


414  THE    SCHOOL. 

practice?  A  class  is  called  to  recite  this  same  lesson.  They 
are  at  their  places  at  once,  and  arranged  in  order  and  silence. 
One  is  called  at  random.  He  knows  what  he  is  to  do,  and 
draws  the  figure  and  makes  the  letters  without  a  moment's 
delay.  A  second  is  called.  He  repeats  the  theorem.  A 
third,  with  the  same  alacrity,  proves  the  tirst  case.  A  fourth 
is  called,  and  proves  the  second.  A  fifth  states  one  corol- 
lary, a  sixth  another.  Each  one,  knowing  he  is  to  be  in 
readiness,  and  that  he  must  know  what  he  is  to  do,  takes 
up  the  recitation  at  once  where  his  predecessor  had  left  it, 
and  the  lesson  is  gone  through  with  thoroughly  in  less  time 
than  would  have  been  spent,  under  the  other  system,  in  draw- 
ing the  figure  or  stating  the  theorem ;  and  they  go  to  their 
seats  delighted  with  this  stirring  exercise  in  a  most  inter- 
esting study. 

The  practice  of  this  rule  requires  energy  in  a  teacher, 
and  creates  it  in  a  school. 

5.  Present  the  practical  bearings  and  uses  of  the  thing 
taught^  so  that  the  hope  of  an  actual  advantage,  and  the  de- 
sire of  preparation  for  the  future,  may  be  brought  to  act  as 
motives.  As  soon  as  a  child  has  learned  three  words,  he 
should  be  set  to  read,  or  to  make  a  sentence  containing 
them.  Dwell  upon  the  advantages  of  a  love  of  reading, 
the  resources  it  gives  in  a  life  of  leisure  and  in  the  weari- 
ness of  old  age, — the  delights  of  learning,  the  value  of  knowl- 
edge. The  learner  will  read  well  in  order  to  reap  these 
fruits,  and  will  thus  be  prepared  to  enjoy  them.  In  lessons 
in  writing,  speak  sometimes  of  the  advantage  of  communi- 
cating with  friends  in  a  distant  part  of  the  world, — of  the 
delights  of  a  correspondence, — the  exquisite  pleasure  of  re- 
ceiving a  letter  from  home. 

This  principle  is  often  neglected.  I  have  known  whole 
books  of  Geometry  to  be  taught,  and  even  a  long  series  of 
lessons  in  Trigonometry  to  be  given,  without  one  word  of 
the  beautiful  applications  of  this  science  in  measuring  land. 


GENERAL    PRINCIPLES. 

ascertaining  the  heights  and  distances  of  inaccessible  ob- 
jects, and  obtaining  many  of  the  conclusions  of  Astronomy. 
For  want  of  observing  this  rule,  it  is  very  common  to  find 
a  person  who  has  been  one  or  two  years  engaged  in  the  bu- 
siness of  life,  look  back  with  regret  to  the  neglect  of  oppor- 
tunities which  are  gone  forever. 

6.  Folloio  the  order  of  Nature  in  teaching,  whenever  it  can 
be  discovered.     This  is  only  admitting  that  God  is  wiser 
than  man,  and  that  all  our  processes  may  be  improved  by 
the  study  of  his  works.     The  method  hereafter  recom- 
mended, of  learning  to  read  by  words  first  instead  of  let- 
ters, is  suggested  by  this  rule. 

7.  W/tere  difficulties  present  themselves  to  the  learner,  di- 
minish and  shorten  rather  than  remove  them;  lead  him,  by 
questions,  to  overcome  them  himself.     This  gives  action  to 
his  mind,  and  puts  him  in  possession  of  its  powers.     A  study 
which  has  no  difficulties  soon  becomes  wearisome,  even 
to  the  indolent,  and  leaves  very  faint  impressions  on  the 
mind.     What  we  obtain  by  a  strong  effort,  we  value  and 
retain.     It  is  not,  therefore,  what  you  do  for  the  child,  so 
much  as  what  you  lead  him  to  do  for  himself,  which  is  val- 
uable to  him. 

This  principle  should  be  more  and  more  practised  upon 
as  the  pupil  is  farther  advanced.  Where  there  are  not  suf- 
ficient difficulties  in  a  subject  to  excite  the  action  of  the 
mind,  the  teacher  may  suggest  difficulties  and  raise  ques- 
tions, which  he  may  leave  to  be  met  and  answered  at  a  fu- 
ture lesson.  By  pursuing  this  course  he  will  be  led  to, 

8.  Teach  the  subject  rather  than  the  book.     Remember 
that  it  is  not  Colburn's  Arithmetic,  or  Davies's,  which  you 
are  to  teach,  but  Arithmetic,  the  science  of  numbers.     Take 
care,  therefore,  to  make  yourself  familiar  with  the  princi- 
ples, and  with  their  various  applications,  as  you  may  find 
them  in  several  authors,  or  by  reflecting  on  them  yourself. 
For  in  this  way,  and  in  this  way  only,  you  will  at  last  get 


416  THE    SCHOOL. 

a  complete  mastery  of  the  science  and  art  in  all  its  forms ; 
and,  while  you  are  engaged  in  the  acquisition,  it  will  be  in 
the  highest  degree  interesting  to  you. 

9.  Teach  one  thing  at  a  time.  In  teaching  Grammar,  for 
example,  show  first  what  a  noun  is,  and  let  the  pupil  be 
exercised  in  this,  in  various  ways,  until  it  becomes  perfect- 
ly familiar,  before  he  is  even  taught  the  difference  between 
a  common  and  proper  noun.  Advance  thus,  step  by  step, 
making  sure  of  the  ground  you  stand  on  before  a  new  step 
is  taken. 

After  all  the  pains  we  can  take,  it  will  still  often  happen 
that  much  which  a  child  is  learning  he  can  understand  but 
imperfectly.  There  will  still  be  some  things  which  he 
cannot  understand  at  all.  In  these  cases  he  should  be 
led  to  distinguish  what  he  understands  from  what  he  does 
not,  and  be  encouraged  to  hope  that  he  will,  by  reviewing 
and  farther  study,  be  enabled  to  understand  better  hereafter. 

The  following  suggestions,  under  the  name  of  general 
cautions,  are  taken  from  the  excellent  work  so  often  refer- 
red to.* 

"  1.  Never  get  out  of  patience  with  dulness.  Perhaps  I 
ought  to  say,  never  get  out  of  patience  with  anything. 
That  would,  perhaps,  be  the  wisest  rule.  But,  above  all 
things,  remember  that  dulness  and  stupidity  (and  you  will 
certainly  find  them  in  every  school)  are  the  very  last  things 
to  get  out  of  patience  with.  If  the  Creator  has  so  formed 
the  mind  of  a  boy  that  he  must  go  through  life  slowly  and 
with  difficulty,  impeded  by  obstructions  which  others  do 
not  feel,  and  depressed  by  discouragements  which  others 
never  know,  his  lot  is  surely  hard  enough,  without  having 
you  to  add  to  it,  the  trials  and  suffering  which  sarcasm  and 
reproach  from  you  can  heap  upon  him.  Look  over  your 
schoolroom,  therefore,  and,  wherever  you  find  one  whom 
you  perceive  the  Creator  to  have  endowed  with  less  intel- 
*  The  Teacher 


GENERAL    PRINCIPLES.  417 

lectual  power  than  others,  fix  your  eye  upon  him  with  an 
expression  of  kindness  and  sympathy.  Such  a  boy  will 
have  suffering  enough  from  the  selfish  tyranny  of  his  com- 
panions ;  he  ought  to  find  in  you  a  protector  and  friend. 
One  of  the  greatest  pleasures  which  a  teacher's  life  affords 
is  the  interest  of  seeking  out  such  a  one,  bowed  down  with 
burdens  of  depression  and  discouragement — unaccustomed 
to  sympathy  and  kindness,  and  expecting  nothing  for  the 
future  but  a  weary  continuation  of  the  cheerless  toils  which 
have  imbittered  the  past ; '  and  the  pleasure  of  taking  off 
the  burden, — of  surprising  the  timid,  disheartened  sufferer 
by  kind  words  and  cheering  looks,  and  of  seeing  in  his 
countenance  the  expression  of  ease,  and  even  of  happiness, 
gradually  returning. 

"  2.  The  teacher  should  be  interested  in  all  his  scholars, 
and  aim  equally  to  secure  the  progress  of  all.  Let  there 
be  no  neglected  ones  in  the  schoolroom.  We  should  al- 
ways remember  that,  however  unpleasant  in  countenance 
and  manners  that  bashful  boy  in  the  corner  may  be,  or  how- 
ever repulsive  in  appearance  or  unhappy  in  disposition  that 
girl,  seeming  to  be  interested  in  nobody,  and  nobody  ap- 
pearing interested  in  her,  they  still  have,  each  of  them,  a 
mother,  who  loves  her  own  child,  and  takes  a  deep  and  con- 
stant interest  in  its  history.  Those  mothers  have  a  right, 
too,  that  their  children  should  receive  their  full  share  of  at- 
tention in  a  school  which  has  been  established  for  the  com- 
mon and  equal  benefit  of  all. 

"  3.  Do  not  hope  or  attempt  to  make  all  your  pupils  alike. 
Providence  has  determined  that  human  minds  should  differ 
from  each  other,  for  the  very  purpose  of  giving  variety  and 
interest  to  this  busy  scene  of  life.  Now  if  it  were  possible 
for  a  teacher  so  to  plan  his  operations  as  to  send  his  pupils 
forth  upon  the  community,  formed  on  the  same  model,  as  if 
they  were  made  by  machinery,  he  would  do  so  much  to- 
wards spoiling  one  of  the  wisest  of  the  plans  which  the 


418  THE    SCHOOL. 

Almighty  has  formed  for  making  this  world  a  happy  scene. 
Let  it  be  the  teacher's  aim  to  co-operate  with,  not  vainly  to 
attempt  to  thwart,  the  designs  of  Providence.  We  should 
bring  out  those  powers  with  which  the  Creator  has  endued 
the  minds  placed  under  our  control.  We  must  open  our 
garden  to  such  influences  as  shall  bring  forward  all  the 
plants,  each  in  a  way  corresponding  to  its  own  nature.  It 
is  impossible  if  it  were  wise,  and  it  would  be  foolish  if  it 
were  possible,  to  stimulate,  by  artificial  means,  the  rose,  in 
hope  of  its  reaching  the  size  and  magnitude  of  the  apple- 
tree,  or  to  try  to  cultivate  the  fig  and  the  orange  where 
wheat  only  will  grow.  No  ;  it  should  be  the  teacher's  main 
design  to  shelter  his  pupils  from  every  deleterious  influ- 
ence, and  to  bring  everything  to  bear  upon  the  community 
of  minds  before  him  which  will  encourage,  in  each  one,  the 
development  of  its  own  native  powers.  For  the  rest,  he 
must  remember  that  his  province  is  to  cultivate,  not  to 
create. 

"  4.  Do  not  allow  the  faults  or  obliquities  of  character, 
or  the  intellectual  or  moral  wants  of  any  individual  of  your 
pupils,  to  engross  a  disproportionate  share  of  your  time.  I 
have  already  said  that  those  who  are  peculiarly  in  need  of 
sympathy  or  help  should  receive  the  special  attention  they 
seem  to  require ;  what  I  mean  to  say  now  is,  do  not  carry 
this  to  an  extreme.  When  a  parent  sends  you  a  pupil, 
who,  in  consequence  of  neglect  or  of  mismanagement  at 
home,  has  become  wild  and  ungovernable,  and  full  of  all 
sorts  of  wickedness,  he  has  no  right  to  expect  that  you 
shall  turn  your  attention  away  from  the  wide  field  which, 
in  your  whole  schoolroom,  lies  before  you,  to  spend  your 
time,  and  exhaust  your  spirits  and  strength,  in  endeavouring 
to  repair  the  injuries  which  his  own  neglect  has  occasion- 
ed. When  you  open  a  school,  you  do  not  engage,  either 
openly  or  tacitly,  to  make  every  pupil  who  may  be  sent  to 
you  a  learned  or  a  virtuous  man.  You  do  engage  to  give 


READING.  419 

them  all  faithful  instruction,  and  to  bestow  upon  each  such 
a  degree  of  attention  as  is  consistent  with  the  claims  of 
the  rest.  But  it  is  both  unwise  and  unjust  to  neglect  the 
many  trees  in  your  nursery,  which,  by  ordinary  attention, 
may  be  made  to  grow  straight  and  tall,  and  to  bear  good 
fruit,  that  you  may  waste  your  labour  upon  a  crooked  stick, 
from  which  all  your  toil  can  secure  very  little  beauty  or 
fruitfulness. 

"  The  school,  the  whole  school,  is  your  field, — the  eleva- 
tion of  the  mass,  in  knowledge  and  virtue,  and  no  individual 
instance,  either  of  dulness  or  precocity,  should  draw  you 
away  from  its  steady  pursuit." 


CHAPTER  III. 

INSTRUCTION. 
SECTION   I.     BEADING. 

"  Learning  to  read  is  the  most  difficult  of  human  attainments." — 
EDGEWOETH. 

A  COMMON  mode  of  teaching  the  letters  has  been  to  point 
them  all  out  in  succession,  at  each  lesson,  until  they  were 
learned.  This  is  a  slow  and  bad  way.  The  impression 
of  each  letter  on  the  mind  is  erased  by  that  which  is  shown 
next.  A  better  way  is  to  show  a  child  only  one  or  two  let- 
ters at  a  lesson,  give  their  names  very  distinctly,  speak 
about  their  appearance,  and  let  him  look  at  them  until  he 
can  distinguish  them  and  call  their  names.  They  may  be 
on  blocks  of  wood  or  on  pieces  of  pasteboard,  and  the  child 
may  be  sent  to  bring  them  to  you,  directed  by  the  name, 
until  he  is  familiar  with  them.  One  may  be  added  at  each 
lesson,  but  care  must  be  taken  that  he  does  not  forget  either 
of  those  he  has  already  learned.  Each  child  should  be 


420  THE    SCHOOL. 

furnished  with  a  slate  and  pencil,  and  when  he  has  learn- 
ed a  letter,  he  may  try  to  draw  it  on  the  slate  ;  and  he 
should  be  encouraged  to  persevere  until  he  can  make  some- 
thing like  it.  When  he  has  learned  the  small  letters,  he 
may  learn  the  capitals,  and  afterward  the  italics. 

If  no  blocks  or  printed  letters  on  pasteboard  are  to  be 
had,  the  letters  may  be  drawn,  an  inch  or  more  long,  on  a 
blackboard  or  slate,  and  the  child  be  allowed  to  learn  and 
copy  them.  When  he  has  learned  a  letter,  he  should  be 
encouraged  to  find  it  in  a  book.  What  are  called  the  abs 
should  never  be  allowed  to  be  learned,  as  they  mean  no- 
thing, are  of  no  use,  and  have  a  tendency  to  accustom  a 
child  to  read  without  using  his  understanding. 

A  better  way  of  learning  to  read,  much  and  successfully 
practised  of  late,  is  to  let  children  learn  words  first,  and  af- 
terward the  letters  of  which  they  are  made  up.  This  is 
Nature's  method.  A  child  learns  to  know  his  mother's  face 
before  he  knows  the  several  features  of  which  it  is  compo- 
sed. He  learns  what  a  dog  is,  before  he  learns  what  ears, 
hair,  teeth,  and  paws  are ;  and  what  a  cradle  is,  before  he 
knows  what  the  sides,  back,  and  rockers  are. 

The  following  excellent  directions  as  to  the  first  steps  in 
reading  by  this  method  are  from  the  Teacher's  Manual,  page 
113: 

"  Worcester's  Primer  is  an  admirable  little  book  for  be- 
ginners. We  shall  use  it,  therefore,  as  our  First  Book. 
Commencing  with  a  child  ignorant  of  his  letters,  we  should 
turn  to  page  15,  where  we  find  pictures  of  a  man,  a  cat,  a 
hat,  and  a  dog,  opposite  .the  corresponding  names,  in  capi- 
tals as  well  as  in  small  letters.  The  teacher  may  com- 
mence thus  :* 

"  Teacher.  What  is  that  ?      ^ 

*  "  In  order  that  what  follows  may  be  fully  understood,  the  reader 
should  have  a  copy  of  the  Primer  before  him,  and  turn  to  the  pages 
indicated." 


READING.  421 

"  Child.  A  man. 

"  T.  That  is  the  picture  of  a  man.  Would  you  not  like 
to  know  the  word  man  ? 

"  C.  Yes. 

"  T.  (pointing  to  the  word}.  There  it  is.  Look  at  it 
well,  that  you  may  know  it  again.  Now  do  you  think  you 
shall  know  it  ? 

"  To  this  question  the  child  generally  answers  yes. 

"  T.  (turning  to  page  17).  Which  of  these  words  (point- 
ing to  man,  dog,  cat)  is  man  ? 

"  Unless  the  child  has  been  brought  up  in  habits  of  atten- 
tion by  his  parents,  his  heedlessness  will  be  apparent  by 
his  ignorance  of  the  word.  And  this  will  generally  be  the 
case.  So,  turning  back  to  page  15,  the  teacher  can  say, 

"  T.  You  are  wrong.  See,  it  does  not  look  like  that. 
You  should  give  more  attention.  Look  at  it  again  (page  15  ; 
trace  the  form  of  the  word  with  a  pointer).  Are  you  sure 
you  will  know  it  now  ? 

"C.  Yes. 

"  Most  children  will  now  know  the  word.  But  a  few  will 
be  found  so  heedless  as  still  not  to  have  given  any  atten- 
tion. With  these  there  will  be  some  difficulty.  But,  as 
soon  as  their  attention  can  be  caught,  the  instant  one  word 
is  known,  the  spell  is  broken,  and  all  will  go  smooth.  Per- 
severe with  the  first  word.  If  you  cannot  succeed  in  the 
first  lesson,  give  him  two,  three,  four.  Have  a  little  pa- 
tience. In  some  favourable  moment  you  will  gain  his  at- 
tention, and  the  difficulty  then  is  over.  Such  is  the  testi- 
mony of  many  teachers. 

"  One  word  is  enough  for  the  first  lesson.  And  now 
comes  an  exercise  which  must  ALWAYS,  without  one  solitary 
exception,  follow  reading.  There  must  be  no  excuse  for 
want  of  time.  The  teacher  must  take  time,  whatever  else 
he  may  slight. 

"  T.  What  have  you  been  reading  about  ? 
NN 


422  THE    SCHOOL. 

"  C.  About  a  man. 

"  At  the  second  lesson,  see  if  he  can  still  point  out  the 
word  man  (page  17)  ;  if  not,  repeat,  as  before.  But  if  he 
knows  it,  show  him  the  next  word,  and  say,  that  is  cat. 
There  is  no  occasion  to  make  farther  use  of  pictures  for 
the  present.  Turning  again  to  page  17, 

"  T.  Which  of  these  words  (man,  cat,  hat)  is  cat  ? 

"  When  he  knows  this  word,  conclude,  as  before  : 

"  T.  What  have  you  been  reading  about  to-day  ? 

"  C.  A  cat. 

"  T.  Nothing  else  ? 

"  C.  Yes,  a  man. 

"  By  a  similar  process,  the  other  seven  words  will  readily 
be  learned  by  the  child.  But  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  re- 
peat too  often,  in  this  stage  of  education,  that  a  minute  ex- 
amination of  the  child  as  to  what  he  has  read  must  be 
gone  into  at  the  close  of  every  lesson.  No  excuse  can  be 
admitted  unless  the  house  be  on  fire,  or  tumbling  about 
your  ears.  Should  the  teacher  find  there  is  not  time,  the 
lessons  may  be  made  shorter,  or  fewer  given  per  day. 
Three  a  week,  with  questioning,  are  of  far  more  value  than 
twenty  without.  The  development  of  the  faculty  of  atten- 
tion, the  formation  of  a  habit,  is  all-important.  If  that  be 
done  early,  there  will  be  no  difficulty  in  educating  the  child. 
It  ought,  then,  to  be  commenced  at  the  first  lesson,  and 
never,  for  a  moment,  be  lost  sight  of  during  the  whole  course 
of  education." 

Common  significant  words  should  be  selected,  such  as 
dog,  my,  dear,  and  repeated  in  different  arrangements,  dear, 
dog,  my, — dog,  dear,  my,  until  he  can  distinguish  them  per- 
fectly, and  put  them  together  to  make  sense.  He  should,  at 
the  same  time,  be  taught  to  pronounce  the  words  distinctly. 
He  has  thus  the  satisfaction  of  reading, — of  seeing  the  use 
of  his  learning,  from  the  beginning.  To  make  them  still 
more  familiar,  he  should  be  set  to  look  for  the  words  in  a 


READING.  423 

page  where  they  are  to  be  found,  and  to  copy  them  on  his 
slate.  A  word  may  be  added  each  day ;  and  he  should  be 
led  to  amuse  himself  and  exercise  his  ingenuity  by  making 
as  many  sentences  or  parts  of  sentences  as  possible  of  his 
words,  and  by  writing  them  on  his  slate.  When  he  has 
become  familiar  with  a  good  number  of  words,  and  is  con- 
vinced of  the  usefulness  and  pleasantness  of  reading,  he 
may  be  set  to  learn  the  letters.  This  he  will  do  with  in- 
terest when  he  knows  that  by  means  of  them  he  will  soon 
be  able  to  learn  to  read  by  himself,  without  help. 

He  should  not  yet,  if  ever,  be  set  to  learn  words  which 
he  cannot  understand,  but  only  such  as  will  occupy  at  the 
same  time  his  mind  and  his  eyes.  Various  books  for  chil- 
dren may  be  found,  made  according  to  this  method.  Such 
are  Worcester's  Primer,  now  much  used  in  Massachusetts, 
and  My  First  School-Book,  by  Mr.  Bumstead,  of  Boston, 
and  Mr.  Gallaudet's.  In  these,  and  such  as  these,  his  read- 
ing by  means  of  words  should  be  continued ;  and  he  should 
never  be  allowed  to  spell  the  words,  by  sounding  the  names 
of  their  letters,  for  the  purpose  of  finding  out  the  pronuncia- 
tion.* If  a  child  be  never  allowed  to  read  what  he  cannot  un- 

*  The  absurdity  of  this  course  is  placed  in  a  very  striking  light  by 
the  author  of  the  Teacher's  Manual :  "  Let  us,  then,  candidly  in- 
quire whether  it  be  really  necessary  '  to  spell  before  we  can  read ;' 
whether,  in  fact,  spelling,  that  is,  naming  the  letters,  be  of  any  as- 
sistance whatever. 

"  Commencing  with  the  elementary  syllable*,  then,  ab,  eb,  ib,  &c., 
let  us  carefully  note  the  sounds  of  their  constituent  letters,  and, 
joining  them,  observe  whether  they  have  any  resemblance  to  the 
sounds  of  the  syllables  :  thus,  a,  b,  will  be  found  to  make  aibee  ;  e, 
b,  to  make  eebee ;  i,  b,  eyebee ;  o,  b,  obee ;  and  u,  b,  youbee.  Now 
what  resemblance  is  there  between  the  sounds  aibee  and  ab ;  cebee 
and  eb,  &c.  1  Evidently  none. 

"  The  same  discrepancy  will  be  found  to  exist  on  comparing  the 
sounds  of  words  with  those  of  their  constituents.  For  instance :  be- 
fore a  child  is  allowed  to  read  the  word  bat,  he  is  directed  to  say 
bct-ai-tee ;  before  cat,  sec-ai-tec ;  mat,  cmm-ai-tec ;  rat,  ar-ai-tee ;  sat, 


424  THE    SCHOOL. 

derstand,  he  will  never  form  those  bad  habits  of  reading,  call- 
ed school  reading,  now  so  nearly  universal.  I  have  known 
several  children,  taught  to  read  by  their  mothers  on  the 
principle  of  never  reading  what  they  did  not  understand, 
who  always,  from  the  beginning,  read  naturally  and  beauti- 
fully ;  for  good  reading  seems  to  be  the  natural  habit,  and 
bad  the  acquired. 

Reading  intelligible  books  should  alternate  with  writing 
on  a  slate.  This  is  the  best  possible  substitute  for  spelling, 
which,  therefore,  as  a  separate  exercise,  should  not  be  yet 
begun.  Time  must  not  be  wasted  on  spelling  yet,  as  it  is 
important,  as  early  as  practicable,  to  let  a  child  learn  to 
read  fluently,  that  he  may  be  able  to  occupy  himself  with 
reading,  and  be  prepared  for  all  the  other  parts  of  his  edu- 
cation. 

At  this  period  in  his  progress,  that  is,  when  he  can  read 
easy  books  readily,  and  even  before,  columns  of  words  may 
be  sometimes  placed  before  him,  not  to  be  studied,  much 
less  to  be  spelt,  but  to  furnish  him  with  words  of  which  to 
make  sentences  on  a  slate.  The  words  hen,  men,  pen, 

ess-ai-tee ;  and,  before  he  is  allowed  to  pronounce  which,  he  is  re- 
quired to  say  doubleyou-aitch-eye-see-aitch !  But,  lest  it  should  be 
supposed  that  an  unfair  selection  of  words  has  been  made,  in  order 
to  place  the  subject  in  a  ludicrous  point  of  view,  let  us  examine  a 
line  with  which  we  are  all  familiar — the  initiatory  sentence  in 
Webster's  old  spelling-book : 

" '  No  man  may  put  off  the  law  of  God.' 

"  The  manner  in  which  we  were  taught  to  read  this — and  this 
manner  still  prevails  in  most  of  the  schools — was  as  follows  : 

"  En-no,  no,  emm-ai-en,  man,  emm-ai-wy,  may,  pec-you-tee,  put,  o- 
double-eff,  off,  tee-aitch-ee,  the,  ell-ai-double.you,  law,  o-eff,  of,  gee-o- 
dee,  God. 

"  What  can  be  more  absurd  than  this  1  Can  we  wonder  that  the 
progress  of  a  child  should  be  slow,  when  we  place  such  unnecessary 
impediments  as  these  in  his  way  1 

"  The  fallacy  on  this  subject  lies  within  a  nutshell.  It  arises 
wholly  from  confounding  the  names  with  the  powers  of  the  letters." 


READING — ENUNCIATION.  425 

ten,  for  example,  maj  be  introduced  into  such  sentences  as, 
my  hen  has  chickens  ;  I  put  her  in  a  pen  ;  there  were  ten 
men  in  the  house.  If,  at  every  step  of  reading,  the  use  of 
the  slate  and  pencil  be  allowed,  writing,  and  reading,  and 
composition  will  go  on,  hand  in  hand,  in  natural  progress,  and 
will  be  gradually  acquired,  improved,  and  perfected  togeth- 
er. There  is  one  caution,  however,  to  be  observed  in  the 
use  of  the  slate  and  pencil.  They  should  be  always  taken 
away  from  a  child  before  he  becomes  weary  of  them ;  and 
their  use  should  daily  be  granted  as  a  privilege. 

If  all  persons  about  a  child  habitually  enunciated  dis* 
tinctly  and  pronounced  correctly,  he  would  seldom  have  oc- 
casion to  learn  either  enunciation  or  pronunciation  as  a  sep- 
arate exercise.  This,  however,  is  far  from  being  the  case, 
and  lessons  should  now  be  given  for  the  double  purpose  of 
exercising  the  organs  of  the  voice,  and  of  teaching  full  and 
perfect  enunciation.  These  may  safely  be  pursued  for  a 
short  time  at  once,  without  danger  of  inducing  the  habit  of 
reading  without  thought,  as  the  effort  to  enunciate  perfectly 
will  sufficiently  occupy  the  mind. 

There  are  two  excellent  works  containing  suitable  exer- 
cises for  this  purpose ;  one  is  Russell's  Lessons  on  Enun- 
ciation ;  the  other,  Tower's  Gradual  Reader.  The  former 
has  long  been  tested.  The  latter  has  been  recently  intro- 
duced into  the  Boston  schools  with  the  best  effects.  The 
teacher  ought  to  be  furnished  with  one  or  both  of  these 
From  them,  with  the  aid  of  the  blackboard,  he  might  give 
all  the  requisite  instruction.  It  would  be  still  better  if  the 
pupils  also  could  be  furnished  with  them.* 

The  first  series  of  exercises  should  be  all  the  sounds  of 
the  vowels  and  consonants,  uttered  separately,  and  after- 
ward in  combination,  and  continued  until  each  should  be 

*  If  the  teacher  hare  neither  of  these,  an  excellent  substitute  may 
be  furnished  by  the  Key  in  Worcester's  Dictionary,  which  he  must 

haw. 

N  N2 


426  THE:  SCHOOL. 


most  fully  and  distinctly  enunciated.  These  exercises  may 
be  conducted  somewhat  in  this  manner  :  A  word  contain- 
ing the  sound  to  be  practised  upon,  fate,  for  example,  may 
be  written  on  the  board,  and  fully  sounded,  first  by  the 
teacher,  then  by  one  or  more  individuals,  then  by  the  whole 
class  simultaneously,  uttering  a  sound  as  loud  and  full  as 
possible.  Then  the  letter  a  may  be  written  by  itself,  aftef 
fate,  and  sounded  in  the  same  manner.  Then  a  series  of 
words,  ale,  name,  save,  mate,  &c.,  may  be  written,  and 
each  of  them  sounded  in  the  same  strong,  full  manner, 
Next,  let  a  word  containing  a  second  sound,  man,  be  writ- 
ten, and  sounded  by  the  whole  class  ;  then  a  by  itself,  and 
a  series  of  words  containing  the  sound,  mat,  can,  plan,  be- 
gan, &c.,  to  be  sounded  as  before,  Care  should  be  taken 
that,  in  sounding  the  a,  the  true  sound,  as  heard  in  man,  be 
given,  and  not  the  name  sound  as  heard  in  fate.  And  af- 
terward, wherever  it  occurs,  the  pupil  should  be  taught  to 
call  it  a,  and  not  a.  This  principle,  carried  out  with  all  the 
sounds  of  all  the  vowels,  will  much  improve  and  simplify 
the  process  of  spelling. 

When  the  class  shall  have  gone  through  all  the  vowel 
sounds  j  a  similar  exercise  may  be  given  on  the  consonants. 
This  is  still  mote  important  in  reference  to  the  two  objects 
now  in  view,  viz,,  training  the  vocal  and  enunciative  organs, 
and  forming  the  habit  of  perfectly  distinct  enunciation. 
Write  the  word  rob,  and  after  requiring  all  to  utter  it  forci- 
bly, utter,  and  make  them  utter,  as  forcibly  as  possible,  the 
final  consonant  sound,  b,  distinct  from  the  vowel  sound. 
This,  in  the  case  of  several  of  the  consonants,  is  very  diffi- 
cult, but  becomes  more  easy  as  the  organs  become  accus- 
tomed to  the  effort;  so  that  it  rarely  happens  that,  of  a 
whole  school,  any  one  is  incapable  of  sounding  each  of  the 
consonants  by  itself.*  Care  should  be  taken,  as  before, 

*  The  assertion  that  the  consonants  cannot  be  sounded  without 
a  vowel,  is  simply,  as  was  long  ago  shown  by  Dr.  Rush,  false,  In 


READING — PRONUNCIATION. 

that  the  name  of  the  letter  be  not  mistaken  for  its  sound. 
In  c,  for  example,  the  sound  is  sometimes  the  initial  sound 
of  key,  and  sometimes  the  initial  sound  of  see,  but  never 
the  name  see.  After  all  the  sounds  of  the  letters  are  thus 
obtained,  and  can  be  distinctly  and  correctly  given,  the  class 
should  be  practised  almost  daily  in  a  table  formed  by  taking 
the  short  sound  of  each  of  the  vowels,  next  combining  it 
with  each  of  the  consonants  in  succession,  and  next  utter- 
ing the  consonant  sound  by  itself.  Thus, 

a,  ab,  b ;  e,  eb,  b ;  I,  Ib,  b  ;  6,  6b,  b ;  u,  ub,  b. 

a,  akj  k ;  e,  ek,  k ;  T,  Ik,  k ;  d,  6k,  k ;  u,  uk,  k,  &c. 

The  most  difficult  of  the  vowel  sounds  to  get  perfectly 
are  the  delicate  sound  of  a  in  branch,  fast,  &c.,  which 
should  be  an  intermediate  sound  between  the  a  in  far  and 
the  a  in  man ;  the  true  sound  of  e  in  fern  and  of  t  in  virtue  ; 
and  the  full  compound  sound  of  u  in  tune,  similar  to  that  in 
situation,  which  may  be  easily  uttered  by  making  it  a  sep- 
arate syllable. 

The  most  difficult  of  the  consonants  to  utter  distinctly 
without  a  vowel  sound,  are  k,  p,  and  t.  But  even  these 
may  form  separate  sounds.  The  next  most  difficult  are  b, 
d,  and  g. 

After  the  class  has  become  accustomed  to  utter  the  sounds 
of  the  letters  instead  of  their  names,  they  may  be  accus- 
tomed to  spell  in  this  manner.  This  will  make  the  busi- 
ness of  spelling  incomparably  more  easy  and  natural.  It 
must  not,  however,  even  in  this  improved  form,  be  allowed 
to  take  the  place  of  many  other  things  more  important. 
Let  the  learner  never,  at  any  period  of  his  progress,  waste 
his  time  upon  spelling-lessons.  The  proper,  and  the  only 

the  final  syllables  of  such  words  as  hidden,  sickle,  &c.,  there  is  no 
vowel  sound.  See  the  Philosophy  of  the  Human  Voice,  by  James 
Rush,  M.D.,  for  a  very  full  and  philosophical  analysis  of  the  sounds 
of  the  language,  and  the  functions  and  powers  of  the  voice. 


428  THE  SCHOOL. 

perfectly  proper  way  of  learning  to  spell,  is  by  writing  the 
words  on  slates  or  on  paper. 

After  the  simple  sounds,  exercises  should  follow  in  the 
most  difficult  combinations  of  consonants  ;  such  as  those  in 
didst,  width,  rafts,  mangl'dst,  shak'st,  prompt,  canst,  re- 
turn'dst,  and  similar  words,  on  which  an  excellent  series  of 
lessons  may  be  found  in  the  Gradual  Reader  already  refer- 
red to.  It  is  by  such  exercises,  daily  resumed,  but  never 
continued  long  at  once,  that  the  organs  of  the  voice  are 
trained,  and  perfect  enunciation,  the  most  important  element 
of  reading,  speaking,  and,  in  no  slight  degree,  of  thinking,  is 
gradually  acquired. 

Correct  pronunciation  is  to  be  gained  only  from  a  teacher 
who  understands  the  principles,  and  from  a  good  dictionary. 
As  soon  as  the  pupil  is  old  enough  to  use  a  dictionary  for 
this  purpose,  he  should  be  furnished  with  Worcester's.  The 
marks  used  to  indicate  the  sounds  of  the  letters  should  be 
explained  to  him,  and  he  should  be  encouraged  to  consult 
it  in  every  case  of  doubt. 

If,  through  all  the  exercises  that  have  been  described, 
eare  has  been  taken  always  to  examine  the  pupil  upon  the 
meaning  of  what  he  has  read,  the  foundation  will  have  been 
laid  for  reading  in  a  natural  and  intelligent  manner.  Many 
of  the  faults  will  thus  have  been  avoided  which  it  is  usually 
a  considerable  part  of  the  duty  of  the  teacher  to  correct. 
Still,  very  much  more  is  necessary  to  make  an  accomplish- 
ed reader.  The  teacher  must  be  a  good  reader  himself. 
If  he  be  so,  and  endowed  with  a  clear  understanding,  good 
taste,  and  quick  feelings,  he  will  be  able  to  make  good  read- 
ers of  his  pupils.  In  any  case,  he  will  derive  much  assist- 
ance from  a  good  treatise  on  Reading,  such  as  Dr.  Porter's 
in  the  Rhetorical  Reader.  From  some  such  source  he 
must  obtain  a  knowledge  of  the  rules  of  emphasis,  and  the 
inflection  and  modulation  of  the  voice.  Having  made  this 
preparation  to  teach,  he  must  give  the  class  an  idea  of  the 


READING INSTRUCTION.  429 

manner  in  which  a  passage  is  to  be  read  by  reading  it  him- 
self. Good  reading  is  a  commentary  upon  a  passage,  and 
is  oftentimes  the  only  thing  necessary  to  explain  its  mean- 
ing. When,  however,  a  passage  is  difficult  to  understand, 
and  the  class  not  far  advanced,  the  teacher  should  give  them 
the  substance  of  it  in  his  own  familiar  language,  and  when 
they  understand  it,  read  it  properly  in  the  language  of  the 
passage.  Such  an  explanation  is  usually  better  than  merely 
explaining  the  words  singly. 

The  reading  lessons  should  be  the  vehicle  of  vastly  more 
of  information  than  they  commonly  convey.  The  well-pre- 
pared teacher  may  make  them  the  occasion  of  much  useful 
instruction,  by  talking  to  his  pupils  upon  subjects  suggested 
by  the  reading-lesson,  and,  by  interesting  them,  may  lead 
them  to  desire  to  read  for  themselves  upon  the  subjects,  and 
induce  them  to  pay  more  attention  to  the  lessons.  It  would 
be  well  if  the  teacher  would  daily  look  forward  to  the  read- 
ing exercises  of  his  classes,  and  ask  himself  what  useful 
fact,  or  interestiag  Harsratire  or  anecdote,  he  can  call  up,  to 
arrest  their  attention  or  to  supply  them  with  materials  for 
thought.  Our  common  reading-books  contain  selections 
from  orations.  How  much  additional  interest  will  the 
teacher  give,  by  telling  something  of  the  occasion  on  which 
one  of  them  was  delivered,  and  the  effect  it  produced. 
Some  of  the  selections  are  from  histories.  By  a  few  intro- 
ductory words,  he  may  show  what  was  the  state  of  things 
to  which  the  passage  refers,  and  by  putting  them  into  the 
current  of  history,  prevent  it  from  being  to  them  a  mere  in- 
sulated fact.  Satan's  Address  to  the  Sun  loses  half  its  sub- 
limity to  one  who  has  not  read  the  previous  portions  of  the 
Paradise  Lost ;  and  how  much  more  moving  does  the  beau- 
tiful passage  beginning  "  Hail !  holy  light !"  become  to  the 
child  who  knows  that  they  were  uttered  by  one  who  had 
worn  out  his  eyes  and  his  health  in  noble  exertions  for  lib- 
erty and  truth. 


430  THE    SCHOOL. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  many  of  the  selections  in  our 
reading-books, — vapid  Fourth  of  July  oratory,  extracts  from 
deep  treatises,  philosophical  discussions,  and  refined  criti- 
cism,— are  poorly  adapted  to  prepare  the  children  of  citizens 
for  the  great  duties  of  their  situation  in  life.  But,  unfitting 
as  they  seem,  they  may  be  made  far  more  useful  than  they 
commonly  are,  by  suitable  explanations  from  an  intelligent 
and  well-informed  teacher. 

It  is  not  uncommon  to  find  children  who  have  been  taught 
to  read  at  home,  in  books  which  they  could  perfectly  under- 
stand, and  who  consequently  read  naturally,  giving  all  the 
intonations  of  animated  conversation,  change  this  habit  for 
the  stiff,  monotonous,  lifeless  style  called  school-reading,  in 
a  short  time  after  being  sent  to  school.  This  they  do  from 
being  set  to  read  lessons  which  they  do  not  understand. 
This  the  teacher  should  take  pains  to  avoid ;  and  if  there 
be  pieces  in  the  reading-book,  as  must  often  be  the  case, 
which  his  pupils  cannot  understand,  and  which  he  has  no 
time  to  explain,  pass  them  by,  and  read  again  and  again  the 
intelligible  and  useful  lessons.  Books  that  have  few  such 
should  be  exchanged  for  better.  The  reading-lessons  should 
be  such  as  not  only  to  form  the  voice,  to  educate  the  taste, 
and  serve  as  suitable  models  for  composition,  but  to  furnish 
food  for  the  mind,  materials  for  present  thought  and  future 
action.  In  how  many  instances,  in  our  schoolbooks,  might 
the  vagaries,  speculations,  and  declamations  of  scholars, 
philosophers,  and  politicians,  be  exchanged  for  descriptions 
of  the  useful  and  essential  things  in  God's  great  and  beau- 
tiful creation. 

SECTION  II.    SPELLING. 

"  The  pupils  ought  not  to  be  tasked  and  annoyed  with  the  absurdi- 
ty of  that  laborious  and  generally  abortive  exercise,  LEARNING  TO 
SPELL." — SIMPSON. 

I  HAVE  already  spoken  of  the  manner  in  which  this  should 
be  taught,  in  the  early  stage  of  learning  to  read.  In  every 


SPELLING.  431 

stage  we  should  avoid,  as  the  bane  of  good  habits  of  thought, 
the  common  use  of  the  nonsense  columns  of  a  spelling-book. 
Nothing  more  pernicious  could  be  contrived.  The  use  of 
them  prevents  thinking,  without  teaching  to  spell. 

Still  there  are  numerous  anomalies  in  English  which 
must  be  learned  from  a  spelling-book.  After  the  child  has 
learned  to  read  well  and  fluently,  a  spelling-book  should  be 
placed  in  his  hands,  and  his  attention  particularly  directed 
to  the  difficult  combinations.  These  are  admirably  well 
presented  in  Wm.  B.  Fowle's  spelling-book.*  The  simple 
words  will  have  already  become  familiar,  and  time  need  not 
be  wasted  upon  them.  The  whole  attention  should  be  given 
to  the  difficulties.  What  these  are  every  teacher  must 
judge  for  himself.  It  will  depend  upon  the  skill  with 
which  the  pupils  have  been  taught  to  use  their  slates  in 
learning  to  read  and  write.  When  a  lesson  has  been  as- 
signed, a  few  minutes  may  be  appropriated  for  reading  it 
over  carefully.  Examination  in  it  should  be  conducted  in 
various  ways.  One  is  putting  out  words  successively  to 
different  individuals.  When  this  is  practised,  care  should  be 
taken  never  to  begin  twice  in  succession  with  the  same  in- 
dividual, and  to  keep  all  on  the  lookout  by  calling  on  those 
who  are  in  different  parts  of  the  class,  leaving  it  always 
uncertain  who  will  be  called  next.  This  mode,  however 
practised,  costs  much  time.  An  agreeable  mode  of  vary- 
ing it  will  be  to  let  the  whole  class  spell  simultaneously, 
in  measured  time.  This  is  good  for  the  voice,  and,  if  care 
be  taken  to  detect  those  who  spell  wrong,  and  such  as  de- 
pend on  the  rest,  may  be  often  very  useful. 

A  much  better  way  is  for  each  child  to  have  a  slate  be- 
fore him,  and  write  each  word  as  it  is  put  out.  When  all 
the  words  are  written,  the  slates  may  be  passed  up,  one  of 

*THE  COMMON  SCHOOL  SPELLER,  in  which  about  14,000 
words  of  the  English  language  are  carefully  arranged  according  to 
their  sound,  form,  or  other  characteristics,  so  that  the  difficulties  of 
English  orthography  are  greatly  diminished,  and  the  memory  of  the 
pupil  is  greatly  aided  by  classification  and  association.  Published 
by  FowJe  &  Capen,  184  Washington  St.,  Boston. 


432  THE    SCHOOL. 

them  be  examined  by  the  teacher,  and  the  others  by  the 
class,  no  one  examining  his  own  slate. 

A  still  better  way  is  to  give  out  sentences  to  be  written 
containing  the  difficult  words,  or,  rather,  to  give  out  the 
words,  and  require  the  pupil  to  make  sentences  including 
them.  They  thus  become  fixed  in  the  memory  so  as  nev- 
er to  be  erased.  The  objection  that  will  be  made  to  this 
course  is  the  time  which  it  takes.  When,  however,  it  is 
considered  that  by  this  exercise  not  only  is  spelling  taught, 
but  writing  and  composition,  and  all  of  them  in  the  way  in 
which  they  ought  to  be  taught,  that  is,  in  the  way  in  which 
they  will  be  used,  the  objection  loses  its  weight.  As  spell- 
ing is  usually  taught,  it  is  of  no  practical  use  ;  and  every 
observer  must  have  met  with  many  instances  of  persons 
who  had  been  drilled  in  spelling  nonsense  columns  for 
years,  who  misspelt  the  most  common  words  as  soon  as 
they  were  set  to  write  them ;  whereas,  a  person  taught 
in  the  way  here  recommended,  may  not,  in  a  given  time, 
go  over  so  much  ground,  but  he  will  be  prepared  to  apply 
everything  he  has  learned  to  practice,  and  he  will  have 
gained  the  invaluable  habit  of  always  associating  every 
word  with  a  thought,  or  an  idea,  or  a  thing. 

*  SECTION  III.      GRAMMAR. 

"  We  think  we  shall  do  the  public  preceptor  an  acceptable  service 
if  we  point  out  ttie  means  by  which  parents  may,  without  much  la- 
bour to  themselves,  render  the  first  principles  of  grammar  intelligi- 
ble and  familiar  to  their  children."— .EDGEWORTH. 

IN  connexion  with  reading  and  spelling,  Grammar  may 
be  taught ;  but,  if  taught  to  any  except  the  most  advanced 
pupils,  it  must  be  taught  orally.  The  following  method, 
suggested  many  years  ago  by  Warren  Colburn,  whose  tal- 
ent for  teaching  other  things  was  almost  as  remarkable  as 
that  shown  in  his  works  on  Arithmetic,  has  been  tried  with 
eminent  success  in  very  many  schools  in  Massachusetts, 
particularly  in  the  excellent  schools  of  the  city  of  Lowell. 


GRAMMAR.  433 

It  is  incorporated  into  his  series  of  elementary  reading- 
books,*  among  the  very  best,  certainly,  for  teaching  Gram- 
mar and  Reading  that  have  ever  been  made.  Mr.  Colburn 
did  not  make  the  use,  here  about  to  be  recommended,  of  the 
slate  in  teaching  Grammar.  This  is  an  obvious  advance 
upon  his  method,  which  must  have  suggested  itself  to  any 
one  who  had  long  made  much  use  of  the  blackboard. 

Mr.  Colburn  thus  introduces  the  subject,  in  the  Preface 
to  his  First  Lessons  in  Reading  and  Grammar.  "  When 
the  scholars  have  read  this  book  through  two  or  three  times, 
and  are  able  to  read  it  with  considerable  fluency,  the  teach- 
er may  explain  to  them  what  a  noun  is,  in  a  familiar,  easy 
way,  like  the  following :  '  Every  word  that  is  the  name  of 
anything  is  a  noun.  The  words  John,  Mary,  man,  woman, 
boy,  girl,  horse,  dog,  chair,  table,  book,  &c.,  are  nouns  : 
not  the  things  themselves,  but  their  names,  are  nouns.' 

"  Children  will  very  soon  understand  this.  They  may 
then  be  required  to  select  the  nouns  in  some  of  the  senten- 
ces which  they  have  read  during  the  day.  They  will  soon 
do  this  readily,  and  be  interested  in  it.  They  will  be  like- 
ly, at  first,  to  call  some  of  the  pronouns  nouns.  If  they  do 
so,  they  may  be  allowed  to  do  it.  They  will  easily  learn 
the  distinction  at  the  proper  time.  They  should  be  exer- 
cised in  this  way  for  several  days,  or  even  weeks,  if  neces- 
sary, until  they  can  readily  tell  all  the  nouns  in  any  sen- 
tence in  the  book  without  mistake." 

It  will  be  more  interesting  to  them,  and,  in  the  end,  short- 
er and  more  effectual,  to  set  them  to  write  these  words  on 
their  slates,  making  thus  a  practical  exercise  in  writing, 
spelling,  and  grammar.  They  may  also  be  encouraged  to 
make  a  list  of  nouns  from  the  names  of  the  objects  about 
them,  or  from  the  things  elsewhere,  and  thoughts  with  which 

*  "  First  Lessons,  Second  Lessons,  Third  Lessons,  Fourth  Les- 
sons in  Reading  and  Grammar,  &c.  By  Warren  Colburn."  Bos- 
ton. Published  by  Milliard,  Gray,  &  Co. 

Oo 


434  THE    SCHOOL. 

they  are  familiar.     This  elementary  exercise  in  composi- 
tion will  be  found  a  useful  one. 

"  When  they  are  able  to  do  this,"  proceeds  Mr.  Colburn, 
"  some  of  the  distinctions  may  be  explained  as  follows  : 
'  Names  of  particular  persons  or  things  are  called  proper 
nouns  ;  as  Thomas,  David,  Sarah,  Jane,  Lightfoot,  Towser, 
&c.  Names  applied  to  sorts  or  kinds  of  things,  comprising 
several  individuals,  are  called  common  nouns  ;  as  man,  wom- 
an, boy,  girl,  fish,  tree,  stone,'  &c.  Let  them  be  exer- 
cised in  this  distinction,"  both  in  their  books  and  on  their 
slates,  "  until  they  are  familiar  with  it,  and  then  teach  the 
distinction  of  number  in  a  way  like  the  following : 

•'  Observe  that  we  say'  one  boy.'  What  do  we  say  when 
there  are  two  of  them  ?  Do  we  say  '  two  boy  ?'  The 
scholar  will  probably  answer  '  No ;  we  say  two  boys.' 
Then  say,  '  Write  boy ;  write  boys.  What  difference  do 
you  observe  T  Again,  we  say, '  one  hat.'  Do  we  say  '  two 
hat  T  Write  hat ;  write  hats.  What  difference  do  you  ob- 
serve ?  Do  you  make  any  difference  between  two  hats  and 
three  hats  ?" 

"  Propose  several  words  in  the  same  way.  Then  make 
them  observe  that  it  may  be  adopted  as  a  general  rule,  that 
when  a  noun  expresses  more  than  one  thing,  the  letter  s 
must  be  added  in  spelling  it. 

"  Then  tell  them  that,  when  the  noun  expresses  one  sin- 
gle thing,  it  is  said  to  be  in  the  singular  number ;  and  when 
it  expresses  more  than  one,  it  is  said  to  be  in  the  plural 
number" 

A  similar  course  may  be  pursued  with  all  the  parts  of 
Grammar,  taking  care  to  observe  our  9th  rule,  Teach  one 
thing  at  a  time. 

The  blackboard  is  a  valuable  auxiliary  in  this  process. 
In  teaching  the  formation  of  the  plural,  for  example,  the 
following  rule  may  be  written  distinctly  on  the  blackboard : 
"  When  the  noun  ends  in  a?,  ch  soft,  sh,  or  s,  and  sometimes 


GRAMMAR.  435 

in  o,  add  es  to  form  the  plural,  as  fox,  foxes  J  &c.  With 
this  before  them,  let  them  write  on  their  slates  all  the  words 
they  can  think  of  or  find  to  which  this  rule  applies.  The 
same  may  be  done  with  the  other  rules  for  forming  the  plu- 
ral. Gender  may  be  explained  and  rendered  familiar  in  a 
similar  manner,  and,  next,  the  use  of  s  with  an  apostrophe, 
as  John's  hat,  to  signify  possession.  But  nothing  needs  ever 
be  said  of  cases. 

Mr.  Colburn  next  recommends  that  children  should  be 
taught  to  parse  thus  :  " '  Frank  went  into  his  father's  gar- 
den.' Frank  is  a  proper  noun,  of  the  singular  number  and 
masculine  gender.  Father's  is  a  common  noun,  of  the  sin- 
gular number  and  masculine  gender.  It  has  an  apostrophe 
with  the  letter  s  added  to  it,  to  express  that  the  garden  be- 
longs to  the  father.  Garden  is  a  common  noun,  of  the  sin- 
gular number,  and  of  neither  gender.  The  scholars  should 
be  made  to  parse  briskly,  and  to  tell  all  the  distinctions 
without  being  questioned.  The  teacher  should  frequently 
ask  the  reasons  for  the  distinctions,  but  seldom  more  than 
one  at  a  time." 

The  pupil  may  next  be  taught,  orally,  what  an  adjective 
is,  and  then  the  degrees  of  comparison,  being  made  to  prac- 
tise on  his  slate,  on  each  thing  taught,  till  it  becomes  per- 
fectly familiar.  Next  in  order  are  the  article,  the  pronoun, 
its  various  kinds,  with  exercises  on  the  slate  to  render  fa- 
miliar the  use  of  all  the  kinds,  and  all  of  what  we  call  the 
cases. 

Next  the  verb  may  be  explained.  Write  on  the  black- 
board any  sentence  containing  several  verbs  ;  point  them 
out ;  show  that  they  all  signify  action  or  being ;  and  then  say 
that  "  a  verb  is  a  word  which  signifies  doing  something,  or 
sometimes  simply  being." 

In  the  sentence,  '  David  rides  upon  his  horse,  and  holds 
his  reins  in  his  left  hand,  and  carries  his  stick  in  his  right 
hand,  and  his  little  dog  runs  along  by  his  side,'  the  words 


436  THE    SCHOOL. 

in  italics  are  verbs.  They  signify  action  ;  that  is,  they  rep- 
resent David  and  his  dog  as  doing  something. 

"  Whenever  Frank  did  anything  wrong,  he  always  told 
his  father  and  mother  of  it ;  and  when  anybody  asked  him 
about  anything  which  he  had  done  or  said,  he  always  told 
the  truth.  For  Frank  was  a  brave  boy,  and  dared  always  to 
tell  the  truth.  But  Robert  was  a  coward,  and  lied." 

In  this  sentence,  the  words  in  italics  are  verbs,  as  they 
signify  doing  something,  or  being. 

When,  by  exercises  on  the  slate,  the  class  has  become 
perfectly  familiar  with  verbs,  so  as.  to  be  able  to  distinguish 
them  in  every  sentence  read  or  uttered,  what  is  meant  by 
agent  or  actor  may  be  explained.  They  must  then  be  re- 
quired to  tell  the  agent  of  the  verbs  in  their  reading  lessons, 
and  to  write  sentences  in  which  the  verbs  have  agents.  In 
the  sentence,  "  Frank  ran  for  his  basket  and  began  to  pluck 
the  pods,"  ran  is  a  verb,  because  it  signifies  doing  some- 
thing, and  Frank  is  the  agent,  because  he  is  the  one  that 
does  it.  Began  is  a  verb,  and  Frank  is  the  agent  for  the 
same  reasons.  Pluck  is  a  verb,  because  it  signifies  doinnf 
something,  but  it  has  no  agent.  N.B. — When  a  verb  has 
the  word  to  standing  before  it,  it  has  no  agent. 

The  difference  between  transitive  and  intransitive  verbs 
may  next  be  explained.  This  may  easily  be  shown,  to- 
gether with  the  fact  that  the  transitive  has  an  object,  while 
the  intransitive  usually  has  none,  or  it  requires  some  word 
between  it  and  its  object.  In  the  sentence,  "  The  water 
flows,"  the  verb  flows  has  no  object.  In  "  George  rides 
upon  a  horse,"  the  word  upon  shows  the  relation  between 
the  verb  rides  and  the  noun  horse. 

The  learner  may  then  be  set  to  select  the  transitive 
verbs  in  a  page  and  write  them  on  his  slate  ;  and,  next,  the 
intransitive  verbs  in  like  manner.  He  may  afterward  be 
directed  to  make  up  sentences  containing  the  agent,  transi- 
tive verb,  and  object,  and  others  ;  at  separate  exercises,  con 


GRAMMAR.  437 

taining  agents  and  intransitive  verbs.  Much  time,  many 
days,  and  perhaps  weeks,  may  be  required  to  be  given  to 
these  exercises,  on  account  of  their  great  importance. 

Prepositions  may  be  then  explained,  and  similar  exerci- 
ses be  given  to  make  their  use  familiar.  These  may  be 
followed  by  exercises  on  the  various  times  of  verbs ;  dis- 
tinguishing at  first  only  the  three  great  divisions,  past,  pres- 
ent, and  future,  but  in  subsequent  lessons  marking  the 
times  particularly. 

At  this  point  in  the  progress  of  the  learner,  a  book  may 
be  introduced  containing  a  catalogue  of  the  irregular  verbs, 
and  the  variations  of  mood,  number,  and  person,  which, 
however,  must  be  made  familiar  by  appropriate  exercises 
on  the  slate.  Adverbs,  conjunctions,  interjections,  will 
form  the  subject  of  subsequent  exercises  ;  after  which  may 
be  introduced  punctuation,  and  the  use  of  marks  and  cap- 
ital letters. 

The  above  is  not  offered  as  a  system  of  Grammar,  but 
only  as  indicating  the  true  natural  method  by  which  any 
system  of  Grammar  may  be  taught.  Neither  is  it  intended 
to  take  the  place  of  that  instruction  in  the  analysis  of  sen- 
tences,* which  must  be  given  as  a  complement  of  the  rules 
of  Grammar,  for  the  purpose  of  showing  the  dependance 
of  the  parts  of  a  sentence  on  each  other.  Something  of 
this  may  be  found  essential  to  the  best  instruction  in  reading. 

The  whole  time  occupied  in  these  exercises  will  not  be 
so  great  as  that  commonly  devoted  to  the  acquisition  of 
adroitness  in  the  process  of  parsing.  The  difference  will 
be  obvious.  The  most  adroit  parser  is  often  unable  to 
write  a  single  sentence  grammatically.  The  pupil  who 
has  gone  through  with  a  course  of  such  exercises  as  have 
been  described,  will  have  a  familiar  practical  acquaintance 
with  every  principle  of  Grammar. 

*  Valuable  hints  in  the  analysis  of  sentences  will  be  found  in 
Hazen's  Grammar. 


438  THE  SCHOOL. 


SECTION  IV.    WRITING. 


"  Writing  must  be  zealously  practised  according  to  the  briefest 
and  best  system  yet  adopted,  and  the  pupil  habituated  gradually  to 
write  down  words  on  his  slate." — SIMPSOX. 

IF  the  directions  above  given  for  learning  to  read  be  fol- 
lowed, the  pupil  will,  from  almost  the  very  beginning  of  his 
course,  have  occasion  to  write.  He  must  therefore  be  taught 
as  early  as  practicable  the  written  characters.  This  will 
be  a  natural  and  almost  necessary  step  with  the  teacher, 
who  makes  the  use  he  ought  of  the  blackboard.  For  this 
purpose,  the  child  must  be  taught  the  italic  letters,  and  shown 
that  the  written  characters  differ  from  them  only  in  certain 
particulars,  and  that  more  convenient  forms  are  substituted 
for/,  g,  s,  and  z.  The  constant  use  of  the  pencil  and  slate 
will  be  the  best  possible  preparation  for  the  use  of  the  pen. 
And  the  pupil,  long  accustomed  to  their  use,  will  acquire 
almost  necessarily  those  most  important  requisites  in  wrj- 
ting,  legibility,  rapidity,  and  compactness. 

When  paper  and  a  pen  are  substituted  for  the  slate  and 
pencil,  pains  should  be  taken  to  form  correct  habits  of  hold- 
ing the  pen.  The  following  directions,  from  the  Teacher's 
Manual,  are  worthy  of  being  observed.  "  Every  child  should 
be  shown  how  to  hold  and  move  his  pencil,  and  how  to  sit 
at  his  desk  while  writing,  as  soon  as  he  enters  school.  The 
body  should  have  a  regular  slope  from  the  seat  to  the  crown 
of  the  head ;  no  bend.  The  seat  should  be  so  far  back  as 
to  allow  of  this  position.  The  left  arm  should  rest  on  the 
desk.  The  right  should  rest  on  a  point  a  little  below  the 
elbow,  the  little  finger  slightly  touching  the  desk,  but  not 
pressing  on  it.  The  pen  or  pencil  should  lie  on  the  second 
finger,  and  be  held,  not  too  firmly,  by  that  finger  and  the 
thumb.  The  forefinger  should  rest  on  the  pen  or  pencil,  to 

keep  it  steady The  motions  should  be"  principally 

"  made  with  the  forearm.  The  downward  motions  should  be 


WRITING. 

all  parallel The  ends  of  the  r,  o,  v,  and  w  should  not 

descend,  lest  they  degenerate,  as  they  are  very  apt  to  do 
with  rapid  writers,  into  «,  a,  and  u.  For  the  first  week  or 
two,  the  teacher,  standing  or  sitting  where  he  can  see  all 
the  writers,  should  keep  a  constant  eye  upon  them,  to  see 
that  all  the  positions  and  movements  are  steadily  kept. 

"  The  first  beauty  in  writing  is  legibility.  Everything 
should  give  way  to  this.  Flourishes  may  be  useful  in  giv- 
ing freedom  of  hand,  but  they  should  be  practised  by  them- 
selves, and  never  introduced  into  writing,  least  of  all  in  a 
signature.  The  plainer  the  writing,  the  more  difficult  to 
counterfeit  it." 

The  next  beauty  is  compactness.  So  far  as  is  consist- 
ent with  perfect  legibility,  the  greater  the  number  of  letters 
taken  in  by  the  eye  at  a  single  glance,  the  better  for  the 
writer  and  for  the  reader. 

The  style  of  writing  should,  in  the  next  place,  be  such 
as  is  capable  of  great  rapidity  of  execution.  The  round 
text  hand,  formerly  so  common,  and  so  beautiful  as  an  ob- 
ject of  art,  is  objectionable  on  account  of  the  time  required 
to  execute  it  well.  For  the  purposes  of  the  man  of  business 
and  of  the  scholar,  a  ready,  simple,  and  swift  running  hand 
is  very  important.  Such  a  style  will  be  the  natural  conse- 
quence of  the  constant  use  of  slate  and  pencil  in  writing. 

If  to  this  quality  it  be  thought-  advisable  to  superadd  that 
of  elegance  of  shape  in  the  letters,  they  may  be  analyzed, 
and  the  elements  given  in  distinct  lessons.  These  should 
be  carefully  formed  on  the  blackboard,  to  be  imitated  by  the 
class  in  their  books.  The  first  lesson  may  be  the  straight 
line,  the  important  element  in  the  letters  h,  k,p,  and  q.  The 
second  may  be  the  straight  line  with  the  curve  at  the  bot- 
tom, the  most  important  element,  as  it  occurs  in  fourteen  or 
fifteen  letters.  The  straight  line  with  the  curve  at  the  top 
is  an  element  in  three  letters  ;  that  with  the  curve  at  top  and 
at  bottom,  of  seven.  The  0  is  also  an  element  of  seven  ;  the 


440  THE    SCHOOL. 

end  of  the  rof  four ;  the  _;"  of  three.    Then  there  are  the  ir- 
regular characters  c,f,  k,  s,  x,  and  z. 

In  giving  lessons  in  writing  on  the  blackboard,  it  is  well 
to  represent  several  characters,  one  giving  the  letter  and  its 
element  just  as  it  should  be,  the  others  exemplifying  the 
usual  mistakes  that  are  made  in  forming  it.  The  compari- 
son of  these  will  teach  the  pupil  how  to  avoid  what  is  faulty, 
and  form  his  eye  and  his  hand  to  what  is  most  correct  and 
beautiful.  When  all  the  letters  can  be  correctly  formed 
and  joined  together  in  current  hand,  practice  only  is  neces- 
sary to  make  good  writers.  This  may  be  given  in  copying 
well-written  or  engraved  slips,  and  still  better,  by  requiring 
all  written  exercises  to  be  neatly  and  carefully  performed. 
In  using  a  copy-book,  let  them  write  at  first  only  on  the  left- 
hand  page,  and  after  having  gone  through  the  book,  begin 
again,  and  write  on  the  opposite  page.  They  can  hardly 
help  desiring  to  make  this  better  than  what  they  had  writ- 
ten some  weeks,  perhaps,  before. 

SECTION    V.      BRAWING. 

"Drawing  is  no  more  than  writing  down  objects." — SIMPSON. 

I  HAVE  already  spoken  of  ability  to  draw  as  a  desirable 
qualification  for  a  teacher.  One  who  has  this  talent  will, 
almost  as  a  matter  of  course,  desire  to  communicate  it  to 
his  pupils.  And  one  who  cannot  draw  himself,  may  do 
something  towards  forming  a  taste  for  it  by  allowing  and  en- 
couraging his  pupils  to  use  the  pencil  in  drawing  horizontal, 
vertical,  and  oblique  lines,  and  various  regular  geometrical 
figures,  such  as  triangles,  squares,  and  circles,  and  copying 
pictures  of  any  kind. 

Every  child  should  be  taught  the  elements  of  drawing  in 
lines,  or  linear  drawing,  if  for  no  other  reason  than  the  ad- 
vantage it  gives  in  learning  geography.  But  there  are  sev- 
eral other  advantages  in  it,  even  in  childhood.  It  affords 
an  innocent  and  interesting  occupation  for  children  during 


DRAWING.  441 

many  hours  not  otherwise  occupied  in  school ;  and  if  ac- 
quired there,  will  serve  the  same  purpose  at  home.  It  oives 
exactness  to  the  eye,  and  the  power  of  judging  correctly  of 
the  dimensions  of  magnitude.  It  gives  skill  to  the  hand, 
and  to  the  mind  the  power  of  appreciating  beauty  of  form ; 
and  is  thus  an  element  in  a  cultivated  taste.  Its  after  uses 
are  still  more  numerous.  It  enables  one  to  understand  at 
once  all  drawings  of  tools,  utensils,  furniture,  and  machin- 
ery ;  and  plans,  sections,  and  views  of  buildings  ;  and  it  gives 
the  power  of  representing  all  these.  It  is  essential  to  the 
skilful  execution  of  the  plots,  plans,  and  drawings  of  the 
surveyor  and  engineer.  It  enables  the  naturalist  to  repre- 
sent the  plants  or  animals  of  which  he  wishes  to  convey  a 
correct  idea,  and  the  traveller  of  taste  to  bring  home  to  his 
friends  a  vivid  image  of  the  natural  objects  or  striking  views 
which  have  presented  themselves  to  him.  By  the  help  of 
a  little  skill  in  drawing  which  he  had  acquired  at  school, 
but  which  he  had  never  taken  an  hour  from  more  impera- 
tive duties  to  cultivate,  a  missionary  returning  from  Pales- 
tine brought  back,  among  other  things,  in  a  thin  portfolio,  a 
view  of  Mount  Lebanon  as  seen  at  a  distance ;  a  plan  of  Je- 
rusalem as  it  now  appears ;  rock  scenery  near  the  Dead 
Sea ;  a  view  of  the  fishing-boats  used  on  the  Lake  of  Ge- 
nesareth ;  of  the  small  merchant  vessels  that  ply  along  the 
coast  of  Syria ;  of  some  of  the  cedars  of  Lebanon  ;  of  the 
beautiful  lily-like  flower  that  grows  abundantly  on  the  hill 
from  which  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  is  supposed  to  have 
been  delivered  ;  a  plan  of  an  inner  court  in  an  Oriental  house, 
such  as  they  have  been  ever  since  the  times  of  the  Saviour. 
These  cost  him  but  a  few  moments  at  a  time,  yet  how 
pleasant  were  they  to  look  upon,  to  his  children  and  friends 
at  home. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  exercises  which  even  a 
person  unacquainted  with  drawing  may  require,  and  have 
well  executed.  Parallel  lines  ;  perpendicular,  horizontal, 


442  THE    SCHOOL. 

and  oblique ;  the  division  of  such  lines  into  halves,  thirds, 
fourths,  &c. ;  geometrical  figures  ;  plans  of  the  schoolroom, 
yard,  play-ground,  and  vicinity  ;  drawings  of  tables,  benches, 
chairs,  bookcases,  stoves,  globes,  copies  of  any  drawings  or 
pictures. 

SECTION   VI.    ARITHMETIC. 

"  If  a  man's  wit  be  wandering,  let  him  study  the  mathematics." 
BACON. 

COLBURN'S  "  First  Lessons,"  the  only  faultless  school- 
book  that  we  have,  has  made  a  great  change  in  the  mode 
l»f  teaching  arithmetic,  and  is  destined  to  make  a  still  great- 
er. It  should  be  made  the  basis  of  instruction  in  this  de- 
partment. 

The  following  method  is  recommended  by  a  most  intelli- 
gent writer*  to  teach  beginners  who  have  not  yet  learned 
to  count.  A  numeral  frame  should  be  procured,  and,  if  one 
made  expressly  for  the  purpose  cannot  be  had,  an  old  slate 
frame  will  answer.  "  The  vertical  sides  should  be  pierced 
for  eleven  wires,  ten  of  which  should  be  at  equal  distances, 
the  eleventh  farther  apart, — say  double  the  distance.  On 
each  wire  should  be  placed  ten  beads,  half  of  one  colour 
and  half  of  another, — say  blue  and  yellow, — arranged  as 
follows  :  three  yellow,  two  blue,  two  yellow,  three  blue. 
Thus  we  shall  have  one  hundred  beads  on  ten  wires  to 
represent  units,  and  ten  on  the  eleventh  to  represent  hun- 
dreds ;  and  so  arranged,  by  twos,  threes,  fives,  and  tens, 
that  any  number  not  exceeding  one  thousand  can  be  read 
off  as  easily  as  by  the  use  of  ciphers. 

"  Let  us  now  take  a  class  who  cannot  count.  The 
teacher,  holding  the  frame  so  that  the  beads  are  all  on  one 
side,  and  passing  one  of  those  on  the  upper  wire  across  to 
the  opposite  side,  says,  '  There  is  one  bead.  Repeat,  after 

*  Thomas  A.  Palmer,  author  of  the  Teacher's  Manual,  from  which 
work  much  in  this  section  is,  by  his  permission,  taken 


ARITHMETIC.  443 

me,  one  bead  (passing  another  across),  two  beads,'  &c.,  till 
all  the  ten  are  passed  across  and  named.  Then  repeat  the 
operation,  omitting  the  word  bead,  till  all  can  readily  count 
from  one  to  ten.  This  is  enough  for  the  first  lesson.  The 
second  lesson  should  be  a  repetition  of  the  first,  with  this 
addition  :  When  the  three  yellow  beads  are  passed  across, 
say,  '  Now  try  to  recollect  three.'  Then  pass  three  across 
on  another  wire,  and  ask  how  many  there  are.  If  they  do 
not  know,  count  the  first  three  again,  and  repeat,  on  differ- 
ent wires,  till  they  know  three  at  a  glance.  In  like  man- 
ner, make  them  familiar  with  four,  five,  six,  seven ;  and  for 
eight,  nine,  ten,  direct  their  attention  to  the  other  side,  as 
eight  on  one  side  may  be  known  by  two  being  on  the  other ; 
nine  by  one,  and  ten  by  none.  This  may  probably  be  too 
much  for  the  second  lesson.  The  teacher  must  take  care 
not  to  fatigue  the  little  pupils  by  too  long  exertion. 

"  As  soon  as  the  class  has  become  familiar  with  the  first 
ten  numbers,  and  able  to  name  them  on  the  frame  at  a 
glance,  the  difficulty  is  pretty  much  over,  as  the  others  are 
chiefly  a  repetition  of  the  first  ten.  In  teaching  them,  we 
should  take  the  same  pains  with  the  second  ten  as  with 
the  first,  since  the  words  eleven,  twelve,  thirteen,  &c.  are 
learnt  in  precisely  the  same  way  in  which  the  first  are 
learnt,  and  should  be  made  just  as  familiar.  After  the 
first  ten  are  familiarly  learnt,  and  have  been  gone  over 
readily,  we  pass  the  ten  beads  on  the  first  wire  across,  and 
then  say,  '  There  are  ten.1  Now,  one  bead  being  passed 
across  on  the  second  wire,  '  There  are  eleven  ;  another  will 
make  twelve,'  and  so  on  to  nineteen ;  and  passing  the  last 
across,  '  We  have  two  tens,  or  twenty.1  Here  it  will  be 
well  to  exercise  the  class  until,  seeing  all  the  beads  on  the 
first  wire  passed  across,  they  will  fix  their  attention  on  the 
second,  and  give  the  names  which  belong  to  the  second 
ten,  without  each  time  counting  over  the  first  ten.  Here 
also  they  must  be  taught  that  teen  in  the  names  of  the 


444  THE    SCHOOL. 

numbers  from  twelve  to  twenty  is  the  same  as  ten,  and 
that  the  syllable  ty,  in  the  numbers  from  nineteen  to  one 
hundred,  is  used  instead  of  ten.  Then,  by  passing  the 
beads  on  the  third  wire  singly  across,  we  have  twenty-one, 
twenty -two ;  and  so  on  with  the  other  wires,  the  last  bead 
on  the  tenth  wire  making  ten  tens,  or  one  hundred.  "  We 
have  seen  classes  who  have  gone  at  once  from  ten  to  one 
hundred,  and  at  the  next  lesson  could  name  any  number 
required,  on  the  frame,  not  exceeding  one  hundred ;  and, 
by  telling  them  that  each  bead  on  the  eleventh  wire  stood 
for  one  hundred,  their  knowledge  extended  to  one  thou- 
sand. These  minute  explanations  are  necessary  for  those 
only  who  know  nothing  of  arithmetic.  "But  it  would  be 
profitable  for  the  \vhole  school  to  go  over  the  frame  once 
or  twice,  as  there  are  fe\v  who  have  clear  notions  of  the 
meaning  of  ty  and  teen."  It  is  desirable  also  to  exercise 
all  upon  the  frame,  to  teach  them  to  judge  of  numbers 
from  one,  to  ten  by  the  eye.  If  all  the  beads  on  the  first 
seven  wires,  for  example,  are  passed  across,  and  three  on 
the  eighth,  they  may  be  made  so  quick  in  judging  as  to 
say  seventy -three  as  readily,  on  seeing  the  frame,  as  we 
do  on  seeing  the  characters  73. 

"  Our  little  pupils,  having  thus  acquired  the  nomenclature 
of  numbers,  the  fundamental  processes  of  addition,  subtrac- 
tion, multiplication,  and  division,  may  now  be  commenced. 
The  first  two  should  be  taught  simultaneously  on  the  frame  : 
thus,  passing  two  beads  and  two  beads,  the  class  will  see 
they  make  four  ;  and,  if  two  be  taken  from  four,  two  will 
remain.  If  this  be  practised  a  very  few  minutes  every  day, 
in  a  week  or  two  the  class  will  add  or  subtract  instantly 
any  two  numbers  not  exceeding  one  thousand.  Multipli- 
cation and  division  should  also  proceed  simultaneously. 
Thus,  taking  eight  beads,  ask  how  many  twos  they  con- 
lain  ;  and,  if  one  of  the  class  separate  them  on  the  wire 
into  twos,  all  will  see  there  are  four  ;  consequently,  four 
twos  make  eight,  and  eight  contains  four  twos.  It  will  not 


ARITHMETIC.  445 

be  necessary  to  go  farther  than  the  fifth  line  in  multiplica- 
tion and  division,  as  the  higher  numbers  will  be  more  read- 
ily taught  from  Colburn's  '  First  Lessons.'  The  frame  need 
now  be  no  longer  used  as  a  regular  exercise,  but  should  al- 
ways be  near  to  the  teacher's  desk  ;  as,  if  properly  used,  it 
will  be  of  much  advantage  to  the  class." 

If  the  teacher  finds  he  can  more  easily  teach  his  pupils 
to  count  by  reckoning  on  their  fingers,  or  in  any  other  way, 
he  may  employ  that  mode.  It  is  very  desirable,  however, 
that  the  three  names  of  ten  should  be  taught  and  made  fa- 
miliar, whatever  method  is  used. 

"  For  very  small  children,  Fowle's  '  Mental  Arithmetic' 
should  precede  Colburn's  '  Lessons  ;'  but  those  of  seven  or 
eight  years  of  age  may  pass  at  once  into  Colburn.  Of  these 
books,  there  should  be  only  one  copy  in  school.  Any  intel- 
ligent teacher  can  use  them,  even  though  unpractised  in 
mental  arithmetic.  When  this  is  the  case,  however,  he 
should  work  out  every  question  mentally  along  with  the 
class.  The  main  advantage  of  mental  arithmetic  is,  the 
wonderful  manner  in  which  it  disciplines  some  of  the  most 
important  faculties  of  the  mind,  particularly  those  of  atten- 
tion, abstraction,  and  reasoning.  But,  to  gain  these  advan- 
tages in  any  considerable  degree,  the  pupils  should  distinct- 
ly know  that  the  questions  are  never  to  be  repeated.  They 
must  give  their  whole  attention  while  the  question  is  read- 
ing, and  they  must  retain  the  whole  in  their  minds  until 
they  have  found  the  answer,  and  explained  the  process  by 
which  it  was  discovered.  The  books  ought  to  be  used 
thus  :  The  teacher  reads,  '  Your  brother  William  gave  you 
nineteen  cents,  your  brother  John  ten,  and  your  cousin 
Mary  two.  How  many  have  been  given  to  you  in  all  ?' 

"  C.  (after  consideration).  Thirty-one. 

"  T.  How  do  you  know  ? 

"  C.  Because  brother  William  gave  me  nineteen,  brother 
John  ten ;  now  ten  and  nineteen  make  twenty-nine  ;  and 
PP 


446  THE    SCHOOL. 

cousin  Mary  gave  me  two  ;   twenty-nine  and  two  make 
thirty-one. 

"  T.  Very  well.  Twelve  men  are  to  have  ninety-six 
dollars  for  performing  a  piece  of  work.  How  much  is  diie 
to  each  1 

"  C.  Eight  dollars. 

"  T.  Why  ? 

"  C.  Because,  as  the  twelve  men  were  to  have  ninety-six 
for  their  work,  and  as  there  are  eight  twelves  in  ninety-six, 
of  course  each  man  would  have  eight. 

"  I  now  give  a  question  in  a  more  advanced  stage. 

"  T.  A  cistern  has  two  cocks  ;  the  first  will  fill  it  in 
three  hours,  the  second  in  six  hours ;  how  long  would  it 
take  both  to  fill  it  ? 

"  C.  Two  hours. 

"T.  Why? 

"  C.  Because,  if  the  first  can  fill  it  in  three  hours,  it  will 
fill  one  third  of  it  in  one  hour  ;  and  if  the  second  will  fill  it 
in  six  hours,  it  will  fill  one  sixth  in  one  hour  ;  but  one  third 
is  equal  to  two  sixths  ;  therefore,  both  will  fill  three  sixths, 
or  one  half,  in  one  hour  ;  or  the  whole  in  two  hours. 

"  Some  of  the  exercises  in  addition,  in  Colburn's  '  First 
Lessons,'  are  so  easy,  though  not  the  less  important,  that 
there  is  some  danger  of  the  class  allowing  their  minds  to 
wander,  and  yet  answering  correctly.  This  may  be  check- 
ed by  varying  the  questions  as  follows :  Instead  of  Nine 
and  four  ?  Nineteen  and  four  1  Twenty-nine  and  four  ? 
Thirty-nine  and  four  ?  regularly  increasing  the  number  of 
ty,  let  them  be  varied  thus  :  Twenty-nine  and  four  1  Forty- 
nine  and  four  ?  Thirty-nine  and  four  ?  Fifty-nine  and  four  ? 
&c. 

"  It  requires  some  tact  to  gain  the  utmost  advantage  from 
mental  arithmetic,  but  it  is  easily  acquired.  The  main  point 
is,  that  the  attention  of  the  teacher  be  kept  wide  awalie. 
The  dull  and  slow  must  be  allowed  time ;  the  bright  must 


ARITHMETIC.  447 

not  be  suffered  to  monopolize  .he  answers.  At  the  same 
time,  it  will  not  do  for  the  answers  to  be  received  m  the 
order  in  which  the  pupils  stand  in  the  class,  for  in  this 
case  only  one  child  would  be  occupied  at  once.  Each 
pupil  would  attend  only  to  his  own  question ;  whereas  all 
should  be  occupied,  and  should  actually  solve  every  ques- 
tion put  to  the  class.  The  best  plan,  then,  is  for  each  to 
hold  up  a  finger  when  ready  to  answer,  leaving  the  teacher 
to  select  whose  turn  it  shall  be.  Thus  every  one  might 
have  an  equal  chance.  The  'dull  and  the  bright,  however, 
ought  not  to  be  together,  but  in  different  classes.  In  fact, 
it  would  be  well  to  have  the  classes  differently  arranged 
for  each  separate  study.  Some  are  bright  at  reading  and 
dull  in  arithmetic,  and  vice  versa.  To  chain  the  dull  to  the 
bright  has  bad  effects  on  both." 

"  Abbreviations  in  Mental  Arithmetic. — The  following 
abbreviations  may  probably  not  only  be  useful  to  the  stu- 
dent, but  lead  to  the  invention  of  others  equally  profitable. 

"  To  multiply  by  5.  Take  half  the  number,  and  multiply 
by  10.  We  take  half,  because  multiplying  by  10  gives 
double  of  multiplying  by  5.  Thus,  5  X  64  =  -«?£  X  10  = 
32  tens,  or  320.  When  the  number  is  odd,  halving  leaves 
a  remainder  of  1,  which,  of  course,  is  one  5.  Thus,  73  X 
5  =  ^  X  10  =  36  tens  and  five,  or  365. 

"  Let  us  next  proceed  to  15,  20,  25,  30,  &c.,  and  after- 
ward take  up  the  intervening  numbers. 

"  Fifteen  is  10  and  half  of  10 ;  therefore,  increasing  any 
number  a  half,  and  multiplying  by  10,  is  the  same  as  mul- 
tiplying by  15.  Thus,  as  64  and  half  of  64  make  96,  64X 
15  =  96  tens,  or  960.  When  the  number  is  odd,  proceed 
as  above  in  speaking  of  5.  Thus,  75  X  15  =  1 12  tens  and 
five,  or  1125,  and  the  square  of  15  is  22  tens  and  five,  or  225. 

"  Twenty  being  two  tens,  to  multiply  by  20,  double  the 
number,  and  multiply  by  10.  Thus,  20  X  45  =  90  tens, 
or  900. 

"  Twenty-five  is  one  fourth  of  100 ;  therefore,  to  multiply 


448  THE    SCHOOL. 

by  25,  take  i  of  the  number  for  hundreds :  every  unit  in  the 
remainder  is  one  twenty-five.     Thus : 

24X25  =  254  X  100=600. 

25X25  =  V  XI 00  =  625. 

26  X  25  =  Y*  100  =  650. 

27  X  25  =  y  X  100=675,  &c. 

"  Fifty  is  half  of  100  ;  therefore,  to  multiply  by  50,  take  | 
the  number  for  hundreds.  Thus,  24  X  50=^  X  100= 1200. 

"  Thirty  is  thrice  ten ;  therefore,  to  multiply  by  30,  take 
thrice  the  number,  and  multiply  by  10.  Thus,  24X30  = 
72tens,  or  720. 

"  Let  us  now  examine  the  intermediate  numbers,  which 
are  all  done  on  one  principle.  Fourteen  times  any  number 
are  15  times  that  number  less  once  the  number,  and  13 
times  any  number  are  15  times  the  number  less  twice  the 
number.  Thus,  14X24=15X24  less  once  24;  and  13 X 
24=15X24  less  twice  24.  Again,  16X24=15X24  more 
once  24;  and  17X24  =  15X24  more  twice  24.  Thus,  by 
connecting  two  numbers  less  and  two  numbers  more  with 
our  15,  20,  25,  30,  &c.,  we  have  all  the  intermediate  num- 
bers. 

"  Division  is  perfonned  by  reversing  these  processes  ; 
that  is,  multiplying  where  division  is  shown  above,  and 
dividing  where  multiplication  is  indicated.  Though  not  so 
easy  as  multiplication,  some  practice  in  it  will  be  useful. 

"  This  system  of  abbreviations  may  seem  obscure  or  dif- 
ficult, perhaps,  to  those  who  have  never  practised  mental 
arithmetic.  But  nothing  is  hazarded  in  the  assertion  that, 
where  Colburn's  Arithmetic  is  used  as  pointed  out  above, 
the  class  will  understand  and  apply  it  with  ease  and  rapidi- 
ty before  they  have  gone  half  through  that  work.  The 
teacher  may  exemplify  the  abbreviations  for  himself  on  the 
slate,  but  they  should  be  performed  by  the  school  exclu- 
sively in  the  mind.* 

*  In  schools  in  which  these  abbreviations  have  been  practised,  the 
most  striking  and  valuable  effects  have  been  produoed. 


ARITHMETIC.  449 

"  It  is  a  matter  of  the  first  importance  that  the  teacher 
should  have  a  distinct  idea  of  the  objects  to  be  gained  by 
the  practice  of  mental  arithmetic,  as  otherwise  the  main 
advantages  that  might  result  from  it  will  assuredly  be  lost. 
Let  it  be  constantly  borne  in  mind,  then,  by  the  teacher, 
that  the  knowledge  of  arithmetic  is  not  the  chief  benefit  to 
be  derived  from  it,  but  one  of  secondary  importance.  It  is 
the  mental  discipline,  the  power  of  abstraction,  the  habit  of 
attention  and  of  reasoning  which  it  develops,  that  consti- 
tute its  chief  value.  But  all  these  advantages  are  lost  if 
the  child  is  allowed  to  study  the  book,  more  especially  by 
working  out  the  questions  on  the  slate .  They  can  only  be 
completely  attained  by  calling  on  the  class  to  solve  each 
question  mentally,  merely  from  hearing  it  once  read,  and 
then  to  give  a  clear  account  of  his  mental  operations.  And 
so  beautifully  are  the  questions  arranged,  so  completely 
does  the  knowledge  gained  in  each  question  come  into  re- 
quisition in  those  that  follow,  that,  if  the  plan  of  study  be 
commenced  right,  and  strictly  followed,  the  most  intricate 
and  difficult  questions  will  give  no  trouble  to  the  class. 

"  It  may,  perhaps,  be  incredible  to  some,  but  it  is  not  the 
less  true,  that  Colburn's  book  may  be  gone  through,  and 
correct  notions  be  attained  of  the  principles  of  arithmetic, 
without  the  knowledge  of  a  single  character.  A  child  who 
can  neither  write  nor  read,  who  has  never  even  seen  a  fig- 
ure, will  probably  acquire  this  knowledge  more  correctly 
than  those  who  fully  understand  them.  Notwithstanding 
this,  however,  as  the  knowledge  of  figures  is  an  indispensa- 
ble part  of  education,  and  as  its  acquisition  is  much  the 
easiest  in  early  youth,  as  soon  as  a  child  can  hold  his  pen- 
cil correctly,  and  can  write  the  ten  characters,  he  should 
proceed  to  the  practice  of  written  arithmetic." 

The  inexperienced  teacher  will  find  the  key  very  useful 
in  explaining  the  mode  in  which  each  section  is  to  be  taught. 
He  must  not,  however,  depend  too  much  on  these  explana- 
P  P  2 


450  THE    SCHOOL. 

tions,  as  better  ones  will  often  occur  to  himself.  The  plates 
are  of  very  doubtful  utility.  They  may  be  employed  if  the 
teacher,  after  carefully  studying  them,  can  make  good  use 
of  them.  Many  of  the  best  teachers  have  found  them  of 
no  use. 

A  pupil  who  has  been  faithfully  taught  Colburn's  First 
Lessons  will  very  seldom  find  any  difficulty  in  the  manage- 
ment of  fractions.  It  may  sometimes  be  necessary  to  pro- 
duce the  apple  and  cut  it  in  parts,  to  illustrate  the  meaning 
of  the  names,  when  they  are  first  used.  Afterward  it  will 
usually  be  sufficient  to  imagine  the  apple  to  be  divided  and 
subdivided  ;  and  this  has  been  found  better  than  the  use  of 
any  plate  or  frame  whatever. 

Some  of  the  kinds  of  questions  may  be  enlarged  upon  and 
multiplied  to  great  advantage.  The  questions  132  to  143 
of  the  Miscellaneous  Examples  contain  all  the  principles 
of  Simple  Interest.  If  similar  questions  are  repeated  until 
these  principles  are  made  perfectly  familiar,  most  questions 
of  Simple  Interest  may  be  solved  mentally  with  great  facil- 
ity ;  and  precisely  these  principles  are  applicable,  without 
rules,  to  all  cases  of  interest  that  can  occur. 

The  method  of  Mental  Arithmetic  is  capable  of  far  great- 
er extension  than  is  given  it  in  this  little  volume.  The  fol- 
lowing are  some  of  the  things  done  by  this  process  in  a 
school  in  England.  The  age  of  the  moon  is  determined  at 
any  given  time  ;  the  day  of  the  week  found,  which  corre- 
sponds with  any  day  of  any  month  and  year ;  any  number 
not  exceeding  a  thousand  may  be  squared  ;  the  square  root 
of  a  number  of  not  more  than  five  figures  extracted ;  the 
space  through  which  a  body  falls  in  a  given  time  calcula- 
ted ;  and  the  circumferences  and  areas  of  circles  deter- 
mined from  their  diameters,  and  many  other  similar  prob- 
lems solved.* 

*  See  "  Plans  for  the  Government  and  Liberal  Instruction  of  Boys 
in  large  numbers,  drawn  from  experience,"  p.  17. 


ARITHMETIC.  451 

WRITTEN    ARITHMETIC. 

The  Roman  numerals  are  so  frequently  used,  that  all 
children  at  the  primary  schools  should  be  made  familiar  with 
them. 

"  The  following  are  supposed  to  be  the  original  forms  of 
the  Arabic  characters  : 

123456789 

l==D5E9BJl 

"  These  nine  characters  have  each  two  values,  viz.,  their 
simple  value,  as  one,  two,  three,  &c.,  and  their  local  value, 
which  depends  on  their  distance  from  the  place  of  units, 
which  is  always  the  first  on  the  right  hand,  unless  other- 
wise indicated  by  a  mark,  which  shall  be  explained  present- 
ly. Thus,  in  the  following  number,  6666,  we  have  six  four 
times  repeated,  but  every  time  the  character  represents  a 
different  value — the  first  on  the  right  hand  representing  the 
units  (or  ones],  and,  therefore,  simply  six  ;  the  second,  6  ty, 
or  tens  ;  the  third,  6  tens  of  tens,  or  hundreds  ;  the  fourth, 
6  tens  of  tens  of  tens,  or  thousands  ;  and  if  there  were 
more,  they  would  still  go  on  increasing  tenfold  to  infinity. 
Thus  we  perceive  that  the  fundamental  law  of  the  Arabic 
system  is,  that  a  removal  of  a  figure  one  place  towards  the 
left  increases  its  value  tenfold;  and,  on  the  contrary,  its  re- 
moval towards  the  right  decreases  it  tenfold. 

"  In  addition  to  the  nine  characters  mentioned  above,  there 
is  one  which  does  not  consist  of  lines,  rike  the  significant 
figures,  but,  on  the  contrary,  is  entirely  round,  to  express 
that  it  has,  in  itself,  no  value,  its  sole  use  being  to  occupy 
the  place  of  some  denomination  which  may  be  wanting,  and 
which,  therefore,  instead  of  its  customary  name  of  cipher, 
may  be  appropriately  termed  figure  of  place.  Thus,  to  rep- 
resent six  hundred  and  five  (605),  it  is  necessary  to  have  a 
character  that  has  no  value  in  itself,  to  stand  in  the  place  of 
tens  ;  otherwise  the  6  would  be  6  tens,  in  place  of  6 
hundred." 


452  THE    SCHOOL. 

It  is  of  great  importance  that  the  learners  should  become 
perfectly  familiar  with  the  numeration  table.  For  this  pur- 
pose, let  a  series  of  figures  be  written  on  the  blackboard  ; 
let  one  of  the  class  divide  them  into  periods  of  threes,  and 
let  the  class  be  exercised  in  naming  them,  irregularly,  until 
all  are  familiar  with  them.  Then  write  a  series  of  figures 
of  the  same  kind,  thus, 

•  4  4  4  4  4  4 

and  ask  how  many  times  is  the  second  4  greater  than  the 
first  ?  how  many  times  is  the  third  greater  than  the  second  ? 
how  many  times  is  the  third  greater  than  the  first  ?  the 
fourth  than  the  third  ?  &c.  Again,  how  many  times  is  the 
first  contained  in  the  second  1  the  first  in  the  third  ?  &c. 

When  the  class  have  become  sufficiently  familiar  with 
whole  numbers,  they  should  be  immediately  introduced  to 
a  knowledge  of  decimals,  by  being  shown  that  the  same  law 
prevails  on  the  right  of  the  decimal  point  as  on  the  left. 
Having  been  taught  to  estimate  the  value  of  a  figure  by  ob- 
serving its  distance  from  the  place  of  units,  they  may  be 
shown  that,  by  placing  a  dot  on  the  right  of  units,  the  fig- 
ures on  the  right  of  units  have  the  same  names  as  those  on 
the  left,  with  the  addition  to  each  of  th,  and  a  value  con- 
tinually decreasing  in  tenfold  proportion.  Thus, 

444.444: 

the  4  on  the  right  of  the  dot  represents  4  tenths,  the  next  4 
hundredths,  &c.  This  being  made  familiar,  the  effect  of 
moving  the  decimal  point  to  the  right  or  left  may  be  shown  : 
that  to  divide  by  100,  for  example,  we  remove  the  decimal 
point  two  places  to  the  left ;  to  multiply  by  100,  we  move  it 
two  places  to  the  right.  It  may  require  some  care  and  rep- 
etition to  render  these  things  perfectly  plain,  but  when  they 
are  made  so,  many  of  the  difficulties  of  arithmetic  are  en- 
tirely prevented.  The  only  reason  why  decimals  should 
.ever  be  considered,  as  they  often  are,  more  difficult  than 
whole  numbers,  is,  that  they  are  separated  from  them,  and 


ARITHMETIC.  453 

treated  of  in  a  different  section,  as  if  they  had  some  peculiar 
difficulties.  As  they  have  not,  the  student  is  bewildered, 
and  is  led  to  suppose  that  he  does  not  understand  deci- 
mals, while  they  certainly  are  just  as  easy  to  understand  as 
anything  else  in  Arithmetic.  To  prevent  this,  exercises  in 
decimals  should  be  given  interchangeably  with  those  on 
whole  numbers,  in  practice  upon  all  the  rules. 

Here  the  use  of  the  cipher  or  zero,  0,  should  be  shown, 
by  writing  the  same  figure  with  several  zeros  before  and 
after  it,  and  pointing  out  their  effect.  Thus,  30,  300,  3,  .03, 
003,  or  any  other  combinations,  may  be  written,  and  the 
class  exercised  in  reading  them,  writing  similar  numbers 
from  dictation,  and  shovnng  the  effect  of  the  zero. 

When  the  class  perfectly  understand  notation,  so  far,  at 
least,  as  thousands  and  thousandths,  and  not  before,  they 
should  proceed  to  addition.*  And  in  this  the  object  should 
be,  first,  to  make  them  understand  the  simple  fact  that  one 
is  carried  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  column  for  every  ten, 
merely  because  more  than  nine  units  cannot  be  expressed 
by  a  single  figure  in  the  unit  column ;  and,  secondly,  to 
teach  to  add  rapidly,  not  only  by  single  figures  at  a  time, 
but  by  taking  two  or  more  at  once.  In  order  to  this,  the 
class  may  be  exercised  by  such  questions  as  the  following : 
How  many  does  6  want  of  10?  How  many  7?  8?  &c. 
How  many  are  wanting  to  7  of  11  ?  6?  8?  &c.  How 
many  to  12  ? 

"When  the  class  can  answer  such  questions  instantly, 
they  should  be  made  to  observe  that  adding  10  to  a  number 

*  With  young  classes,  it  may  be  well  to  confine  notation,  at  first, 
to  numbers  as  small  as  thousands  or  tens  of  thousands.  They 
should  be  made  perfectly  to  comprehend  such  numbers  before  they 
are  introduced  to  millions.  Most  teachers  are  not  aware  how 
slowly  the  idea  of  such  large  numbers  is  comprehended  by  children. 
One  great  excellence  of  Colburn's  First  Lessons  is,  that  small  num- 
bers only  are  used  in  it. 


454  THE    SCHOOL. 

does  not  change  its  units;  that  adding  11  or  12  increases 
them  by  1  or  2  ;  and  that  adding  8  or  9  decreases  them  by 
2  or  1. 

Columns  should  then  be  constructed,  for  practice,  like  the 
following : 

1st.  2d.          3d. 

a  b  c  d  e  f  g  h  i 

135  218  342 

987  323  433 

774  581  774 

348  372  661 

455  434  812 

667  316  523 

223  248  284 

899  743  595 

584  131  376 

538  454  967 

375  215  748     . 

747  453  139 


In  the  column  a,  every  two  figures  make  10  ;  in  b,  every 
two  make  11 ;  in  c,  every  two  make  12.  In  d,  every  three 
figures  make  10 ;  in  e,  every  three  make  11  ;  in  /,  every 
three  make  12.  In  g,  every  two  alternate  figures,  viz.,  first 
and  third,  and  second  and  fourth,  &c.,  make  10 ;  in  A,  the 
first  ajid  fourth,  second  and  third,  fifth  and  eighth,  seventh 
and  sixth,  &c.,  make  10 ;  the  column  i  goes  on  a  different 
principle,  which  is,  that  whenever  three  figures  follow  in 
regular  order,  their  sum  is  equal  to  three  times  the  middle 
one  ;  that  is,  the  sum  of  9,  8,  and  7  is  3  times  8  ;  4  +  5  +  6 
=  3  X5  ;  because,  if  1  be  taken  from  the  largest  and  added 
to  the  smallest,  all  three  would  be  equal.  Let  the  teacher 
point  out  to  the  school,  or  to  a  class,  the  different  combina- 
tions in  the  columns  a,  b,  c,  d,  &c.,  and  then  write  some 
columns  of  figures  at  random,  and  he  will  be  surprised 
bow  quickly  the  little  pupils  will  catch  the  different  combi- 
nations, and  add  them  together." 


ARITHMETIC.  435 

1ft  teaching  subtraction,  the  practice  of  borrowing  should 
be  thus  explained : 

From  635 
Take  476; 
Remain  159 

We  cannot  take  6  from  5,  but  35  may  be  considered  as 
20  and  15,  and  6  taken  from  15  leaves  9.  So,  we  cannot 
take  70  from  20,  or  7  in  the  column  of  tens  from  2,  but  62 
may  be  considered  50  and  12j  and  7  from  12  leaves  5. 
Then,  as  5  remains  in  place  of  6  in  the  column  of  hun- 
dreds, 4  from  5  leaves  1. 

MULTIPLICATION. — The  student  having  been  taught,  by 
mental  arithmetic,  to  form  the  multiplication  table,  it  will  be 
well  to  let  it  be  perfectly  learned  as  far  as  20  by  20.  This 
is  earnestly  recommended,  as  it  will  be  found  a  great  saving 
of  time.  But  if  it  be  not  thought  advisable,  he  should  at 
least  be  perfectly  familiar  with  it  as  far  as  12  by  12 ;  and 
care  should  be  taken  that  he  know  it  as  well  in  one  order 
of  the  factors  as  in  another,  that  9  times  7,  for  instance, 
should  come  as  readily  as  7  times  9.  When  it  is  well 
learned,  the  student  should  be  exercised  in  multiplying  by 
each  of  the  digits  separately,  and  afterward  by  larger  num- 
bers. Care  should  be  taken  that  he  do  not  lose  the  real 
value  of  the  numbers.  This  may  be  done  by  some  exer- 
cises of  this  kind : 

Multiply  439 

By  37 

3073 

1317 

16243 

Say  7  times  9  are  63 }  set  down  3  arid  carry  6  tens :  7 
times  3  tens  are  21  tens,  to  which  add  6  tens,  and  you 
have  27  tens ;  set  down  7  and  carry  200,  &c. ;  in  the  next 
line,  30  times  9  are  270 ;  set  down  7  in  the  ten's  place, 
and  carry  200,  &c. 
Much  time  may  be  saved  by  abbreviated  modes  of  multi- 


456  THE    SCHOOL. 

plying,  some  of  which  are  the  following :  to  multiply  by  5, 
consider  the  multiplicand  to  be  multiplied  by  10,  by  annex- 
ing 0,  and  divide  it  by  2.  To  multiply  by  9,  consider  the 
multiplicand  as  multiplied  by  10,  by  annexing  0,  and,  as 
this  is  once  too  many,  subtract  the  multiplicand  from  it, 
thus  : 

9245 
9 

83205 

5  from  0,  4  from  the  4  which  would  be  left,  2  from  4,  &c. 
To  multiply  by  11,  suppose  the  operation  to  be  perform- 
ed as  in  No.  1,  and  so  exhibit  it  on  the  blackboard,  and 
explain  No.  2  as  if  No.  1  were  before  you,  thus  : 

No.  1.  No.  2. 

426,389  426,389 

11  11 


426,389  4,690,279 

4,263,89 
4,690,279 

9  are  9 ;  9  and  8  are  17 ;  1  added  to  3  are  4  and  8  are  12 , 
1  and  6  are  7  and  3  are  10,  &c.  That  is,  first  set  down 
the  figure  on  the  right,  then  add  each  figure  to  the  one  next 
it  on  the  left,  and  lastly  set  down  the  last  figure  on  the  left 
by  itself. 

To  multiply  by  any  number  between  12  and  20 :  multi- 
ply by  the  units'  figure  of  the  multiplier,  continually  adding 
in  the  next  right-hand  figure  of  the  multiplicand,  and  on  the 
left  setting  down  the  highest  figure  of  the  multiplicand,  in- 
creased by  what  was  to  be  carried. 

To  multiply  by  25,  conceive  two  zeros,  00,  to  be  added 
to  the  multiplicand,  and  divide  by  4. 

DIVISION. — After  the  pupil  has  become  familiar  with  di- 
vision by  one  or  more  numbers,  he  should  be  taught  the 
Italian  method,  as  follows.  In  this,  as  in  all  cases  of  long 
division,  the  divisor,  as  well  as  the  quotient,  should  be 
placet!  on  the  right  of  the  dividend. 


ARITHMETIC. 


1758939 


198 


451 


39 

Having  found  that  39  are  contained  4  times  in  175,  say  4 
times  9  are  36,  which  cannot  be  taken  from  5,  but,  taken 
from  45,  leave  9  ;  then  4  times  3  are  12,  which,  taken  from 
the  13  which  remain  of  the  17  after  4  are  borrowed,  leave 
1.  To  the  19  bring  down  8,  and  proceed  as  before. 

The  following  abbreviations  are  too  obvious  to  need  ex- 
planation : 

"To  divide  by  5,  15,  35,  45,  or  55,  multiply  by  2  and 
divide  by  twice  5,  &c.  To  divide  by  75,  175,  275,  multi- 
ply by  4  and  divide  by  four  times  the  number.  To  divide 
by  125,  375,  625,  875,  1125,  or  1375,  multiply  by  8  and 
divide  by  8  times  the  number,  or  1,3,  5,  7, 9,  and  11  thous- 
and. 

By  reversing  these  processes  we  obtain  modes  of  abbre- 
viating multiplication,  thus  :  .  . 

"  To  multiply  by  175,  multiply  by  700  and  divide  by  4, 
&c." 

Division  of  decimals  should  be  explained  in  connexion 
with  that  by  whole  numbers.  To  the  student  familiar  with 
Colburn's  First  Lessons,  the  matter  is  perfectly  simple  and 
easy.  Suppose  24  are  to  be  divided  by  8.  If  both  are 
whole  numbers,  the  quotient  is  at  once  seen  to  be  the  whole 
number  3.  But  suppose  2-4  are  to  be  divided  by  8.  An 
eighth  part  of  24  tenths  is  3  tenths.  The  quotient  is  there- 
fore -3  ;  or  a  third  part  of  24  tenths  is  8  tenths,  or  -8.  Sup- 
pose the  dividend  to  be  -24  ;  then  an  eighth  part  of  24  hun- 
dredths  is  3  hundredths,  or  -03,  and  a  third  part  of  24  hun- 
dredths  is  8  hundredths — that  is  '24-:-  3  =  '08.  Lastly,  sup- 
pose 24  are  to  be  divided  by  -8  :  24  are  240  tenths,  and  8 
tenths  are  contained  in  240  tenths  30  times.  The  quotient, 
therefore,  of  24-0  divided  by  '8  is  30.  A  few  explanations 
of  this  kind  on  the  blackboard  would  be  sufficient  to  show 
QQ 


458  THE    SCHOOL. 

that  the  principles  of  division  of  decimals  are  identical  with 
those  for  division  of  whole  numbers,  and  that  the  only  diffi- 
culty is  the  place  of  the  decimal  point. 

FRACTIONS. — All  the  difficulties  of  managing  fractions 
vanish  before  the  processes  of  Colburn's  First  Lessons.  If 
the  student  be  familiar  with  these,  therefore,  he  has  only  to 
refer  to  the  section  in  which  they  are  contained,  and  to 
perform  on  the  blackboard  or  slate  the  processes  which  he 
has  been  in  the  habit  of  performing  mentally.  If  he  were 
required,  for  example,  to  multiply  one  fraction  by  another, 
he  would  only  have  to  recall  the  mental  process  of  finding 
f  ths  of  4ths,  and  work  it  out  on  the  slate  or  blackboard : 
^th  of  jth  is  a'jth,  -jth  of  |ths  is  ?4jths,  and  therefore  |ths 
of  ^ths  are  -^f  ths.  This  may  then  be  represented  on  the 
blackboard  thus:  |X4=H'  am*  ^e  may  be  made  to 
observe  that  he  has  multiplied  the  numerators  for  a  new 
numerator,  and  the  denominators  for  a  new  denominator. 
In  this  manner  he*  will  find  that  all  the  rules  or  principles 
of  fractions  are  contained  in  the  last  three  sections  of  the 
"  First  Lessons." 

In  reducing  a  fraction  to  its  lowest  terms,  the  learner  will 
be  often  much  assisted  by  the  following  facts,  which  should 
therefore  be  pointed  out  to  him,  with  the  reason  : 

Every  even  number  is  divisible  by  2. 

Every  number  whose  two  right-hand  figures  are  divisible 
by  4  or  by  25,  is  itself  divisible  by  4  or  by  25  ;  because  both 
these  numbers  will  divide  one  hundred  without  a  remainder, 
and  therefore  any  number  of  hundreds. 

Every  number  whose  three  right-hand  figures  are  divisi- 
ble by  8  or  by  125,  is  itself  divisible  by  8  or  by  125  ;  be- 
cause, as  one  thousand  is  divisible  by  these  numbers,  any 
number  of  thousands  must  be  so  likewise. 

Every  number  ending  in  0  or  5  is  divisible  by  5. 

Every  number,  the  sum  of  whose  significant  figures  is  di- 
visible by  3  or  by  9,  is  itself  divisible  by  3  or  by  9  ;  because, 


ARITHMETIC.  459 

as  10,  100,  1000,  &c.,  are  equal  to  9,  99,  999,  &c.,  and  1  over, 
so  3,  4,  or  any  other  number  of  10s,  100s,  &c.,  are  equal  to 
3,  4,  or  any  number  of  9s,  99s,  &c.,  with  3,  4,  &c.,  over. 

The  process  of  multiplying  a  series  of  fractions  may  of- 
ten be  much  shortened  by  cancelling  such  factors  as  are  at 
the  same  time  in  the  numerator  and  denominator,  or  above 
and  below  the  line  ;  since,  if  a  number  is  first  multiplied 
and  then  divided  by  the  same  factor,  its  value  remains  the 
same  :  thus,  in  the  question,  What  is  the  value  of  |ths  of 
•f  ths  of  £  ths  of  -f  ths  of  |ths  1  we  cancel  first, 


4  above  and  below  the  line,  because,  otherwise,  we  first  di- 
vide and  then  multiply  by  4.  For  the  same  reason,  we 
cancel,  successively,  5,  6,  and  7,  and  find  the  value  of  the 
fraction  to  be  fths. 

In  the  same  manner,  we  may  sometimes  cancel  several 
factors  of  the  same  number,  when  the  same  factors  are  found 
at  the  same  time  on  the  opposite  sides  of  the  line.  In  the 
case 

4 

£    g$     3      3 
'__  v—  ;  v  —  =  _ 

,fxH*S    10' 


we  first  cancel  4  above,  and  the  factor  4  in  32  below  the 
line,  reducing  the  latter  to  8  ;  then  7  below,  and  the  fac- 
tor 7  in  28  above,  reducing  the  latter  to  4  ;  then  this  4 
above  and  4  in  the  8  below,  reducing  this  last  to  2.  There 
remain  3  above  and  2x5  below  the  line. 

This  process  of  cancelling  admits  of  numerous  and  im- 
portant applications  in  the  solution  of  practical  questions. 
Of  these  I  shall  give  various  instances  hereafter. 

Whenever  a  new  principle  is  to  be  explained,  it  should 


460  THE    SCHOOL. 

first  be  introduced  by  instances,  in  numbers  so  small  as  to 
be  easily  comprehended  by  the  mind  of  the  learner.  Pro- 
portion may  be  thus  explained  :  ask,  How  much  larger  is  the 
number  4  than  2  ?  Twice  as  large.  How  much  larger 
is  the  number  8  than  4  ?  Twice  as  large.  Then  you  see 
that  4  is  as  much  larger  than  2  as  8  is  than  4.  These  four 
numbers  form  what  is  called  a  proportion.  They  may  be 
written  thus  :  2  :  4  : :  4  :  8  ;  and  when  so  written,  may  be 
read,  2  is  to  4  as  4  is  to  8 ;  or,  2  is  as  much  smaller  than 
4  as  4  is  than  8.  Or  they  may  be  written  thus  :  2:4=4:8, 
and  read  as  before.  In  each  case,  these  numbers  so  arranged 
form  a  proportion.  So  3:5  =  9:  15.  What  four  numbers 
can  you  find  which  will  form  a  proportion  ?  (The  class 
should  be  exercised  in  forming  proportions,  until  the  word 
and  the  thing  expressed  by  it  are  perfectly  familiar.  The 
explanation  may  then  proceed.)  When  one  number  is 
twice  as  large  as  another,  as  4  and  2,  or  8  and  4,  we  say 
that  they  have  the  ratio  of  2  to  1,  or  that  one  is  A  of  the 
other.  In  like  manner,  when  one  is  three  times  as  large 
as  another,  as  6  and  2,  we  say  it  has  the  ratio  of  3  to  1,  or 
that  one  is  id  of  the  other.  What  other  numbers  have  the 
ratio  of  3  to  1  ?  What  have  the  ratio  of  4  to  1 1  What 
have  that  of  5  to  1  ?  Observe  that  of  any  two  pairs  of  the 
numbers  that  have  the  same  ratio,  you  may  form  a  pro- 
portion; for  example:  2:10=4:20.  Form  a  proportion 
of  numbers  that  have  the  ratio  of  4  to  1,  6  to  1,  &c.,  &c. 
Most  numbers  have  not  so  simple  a  ratio  to  each  other :  3 
is  |ths  of  5,  and  5  is  |ds  of  3.  Form  a  proportion  in  which 
the  ratio  shall  be  |ths.  3 :  5=9  :  15.  Another  in  which 
the  ratio  shall  be  fths.  4:9  =  12:27,  &c.  The  four 
numbers  which  form  a  proportion  are  called  the  terms  of 
the  proportion ;  the  first  and  last  are  called  the  extremes, 
and  the  second  and  third  are  called  the  middle  terms,  or  the 
means.  Now  examine  all  the  proportions  that  you  have 
formed,  or  can  form,  and  you  will  find  that  the  prodvct  of 


ARITHMETIC.  461 

the  extremes  is  always  equal  to  the  product  of  tlie  means 
This  is  called  the  rule  of  proportion. 

By  means  of  this  rule,  we  may  always  find  any  one  term 
of  a  proportion  when  the  other  three  are  known.  "  For,  if 
one  of  the  means  be  wanting,  we  have  only  to  take  the  product 
of  the  extremes,  and,  as  that  is  equal  to  the  product  of  the 
means,  if  we  divide  by  the  given  mean,  the  quotient  will  be 
the  other.  In  like  manner,  if  one  of  the  extremes  be  want- 
ing, it  can  be  found  by  dividing  the  product  of  the  means  by 
the  given  extreme.  Thus,  in  the  two  following  proportions, 
in  which  x  stands  for  the  unknown  number : 

No.  1.     4:6=;r:18.         No.  2.     x  :  4=3  :  6. 

"  1.  The  product  of  the  extremes  4x  18=72,  which,  be- 
ing also  the  product  of  the  means,  dividing  by  the  given 
mean  6,  will  give  the  other  12,  which  here  is  represented 
by  x. 

"  2.  The  product  of  the  means  4  x  3=  12,  divided  by  the 
extreme  6,  gives  the  other,  2. 

"  It  appears,  from  the  above,  that  it  is  of  no  consequence 
which  term  of  the  proportion  is  wanting.  If  any  three  are 
given,  the  fourth  can  be  found.  But,  as  it  will  be  more  con- 
venient for  the  student  always  to  place  the  unknown  term 
last,  we  shall  regularly  pursue  that  course." 

Most  practical  questions  are  capable  of  solution  by  the 
rule  of  proportion,  which  is  the  foundation  of  what  is  called 
the  Rule  of  Three. 

"  1.*  If  a  piece  of  cloth,  4  yards  long,  cost  12  dollars, 
what  will  be  the  cost  of  a  piece  of  the  same  cloth  7  yards 
long  ? 

"  Our  first  business  is  to  ascertain  what  it  is  that  is  want- 
ed, which  will  be  known  from  the  words  asking  the  question. 
In  the  above,  we  know  it  to  be  money,  because  the  question 
is,  '  what  will  be  the  cost  ?'  Therefore,  12*  dollars  is  one 
of  the  terms  of  the  imperfect  ratio.  Accordingly,  we  write 

*  These  questions  are  taken  from  Adams's  New  Arithmetic 
Q  q  2  v, 


462  THE    SCHOOL. 

it  thus  :  12  :  x ;  the  x  representing  the  unknown  number. 
The  other  ratio  is  one  of  yards,  and  the  numbers  are  4  and  7. 
To  know  in  what  order  to  place  them,  we  read  the  question, 
and  say,  More  or  less  ?  As  7  yards  will  evidently  cost  more 
than  4,  the  answer  is,  More.  Having  thus  ascertained  that 
the  consequent  x  is  more  than  12,  the  other  ratio  must  be 
placed  in  the  same  order,  that  is,  making  its  largest  term 
the  consequent : 

4  :  7=12  :  x. 

"  We  might  now  proceed  to  take  the  product  of  the  means 
7  X  12,  and  dividing  by  the  given  extreme  4,  would  show 
the  amount  of  the  other,  represented  by  x  ;  but  as  this,  and 
almost  all  other  questions,  can  readily  be  abbreviated,  it  will 
be  proper  to  examine  the  proportion  more  particularly  with 
that  view.  At  a  glance,  then,  it  will  be  perceived  that 
the  7  and  12  are  factors,  according  to  the  rule,  and  4  a  di- 
visor." But  as,  when  there  are  the  same  factors  in  the 
multipliers  and  the  divisors,  the  result  is  the  same  if  we  can- 
cel the  equal  factors  in  both,  "  it  appears  that,  if  we  divide 
4  and  12  by  4,  we  shall  have  the  same  proportion, 

1  :  7=3  :  x, 
in  which  x,  the  answer,  is  seen,  by  inspection,  to  be  21." 

"  2.  At  $54  for  9  barrels  of  flour,  how  many  barrels  may 
be  purchased  for  $  186  1     (More  or  less  ?) 
54  :  186=9  :  a: 

Dividing  by  9,          6  :  186=1  :  x 

"         "6,          1  :    31=1  :  #=31,  by  inspection. 

"  Many  of  these  questions  may  be  still  farther  shortened 
by  abbreviating,  mentally,  while  first  stating  them.  Thus  • 

"  3.  If  three  men  perform  a  certain  piece  of  work  in  10 
days,  how  long  will  it  take  6  men  to  do  the  same  ? 

Dividing  by  3,   2  :  1=10  :  x—5,  by  inspection. 

"  FELLOWSHIP. — 4.  Two  men  own  a  ticket ;  the  first  owns 
ith,  the  second  |ths  of  it.  The  ticket  draws  a  prize  of  $40 
What  is  each  man's  share  ? 


ARITHMETIC.  4(J3 

First  man,       1  fourth. 
Second  man,  3  fourths. 

4 

First  man's  proportion,  4  :  1=40  :  a?=10,  by  inspection 
Second  "  "          4  :  3=40  :  x 

Dividing  by  4,  1  :  3=10  :  z=30    "  " 

40,  proof. 

"  5.  Two  persons  have  a  joint  stock  in  trade.  A  puts  in 
$250,  and  B  $350  ;  they  gain  $400.  What  is  each  man's 
share  ? 

A.'s  stock,  250 
B.'s      "      350 

600 
Dividing  by  200,  mentally, 

3  :  250=2  :  a?=evidently  id  of  500=$166fds. 
3  :  350=2  :  o?='d  of  700=  _$233£d. 

Proof,  $400 

"  FRACTIONS. — 6.  If  i£ths  Ib.  of  sugar  cost  T7jths  of  a 
shilling,  what  will  ||ds  of  a  Ib.  cost? 
11     33_^    # 
30  :  43~l5  :  "x 

By  reversing  our  divisor,  11,  the  whole  proportion  is 
changed  into  multiplication  of  fractions. 

30     33      7     a? 
Reversing,  nX43X15=? 

2      3     7    42 
Dividing  by  11  and  by  15,     7  x  7q  *  T~43  ot  a  s^iWmg- 

"  Every  question  is  not  susceptible  of  such  abbreviations  ; 
but  a  vast  majority  may  be  thus  considerably  shortened,  and 
a  large  number  entirely  so,  as  above,  so  as  to  require  no 
multiplication.  The  pupil  should  be  encouraged  even  still 
farther  to  shorten  such  questions,  by  resolving  all  the  abbre- 
viating processes  into  one,  mentally,  while  stating  the  ques- 
tion. Such  a  habit  is  easily  acquired.  Children  of  both 
sexes,  under  nine  years  of  age,  have  solved  questions  like 
the  above  without  writing  them  down  at  all,  merely  by  in- 


464  THE    SCHOOL. 

specting  the  book.  Where  questions  cannot  be  sufficiently 
abbreviated  to  be  solved  by  inspection,  recourse  must  be  had 
to  the  rule,  Product  of  means=pr oduct  of  extremes. 

"  COMPOUND  PROPORTION. — Proportion  is  said  to  be  com- 
pound when  the  ratio  of  the  unknown  number  is  not  equal 
to  another  given  ratio,  but  is  compounded  of  several  ratios. 
Take,  for  instance,  the  following  question  : 

"  7.  If  a  man  travel  273  miles  in  13  days,  travelling  only 
7  hours  in  a  day,  how  many  miles  will  he  travel  in  12  days, 
travelling  ten  hours  in  a  day  1 

"  Here  it  will  be  perceived  that  the  question,  How  many 
miles  ?  depends  neither  entirely  on  the  number  of  days,  nor 
on  the  number  of  hours  travelled  in  each  day,  but  is  influ- 
enced by  both.  It  might  be  resolved  into  two  questions  of 
simple  proportion,  but  it  is  more  easily  and  simply  treated 
as  one  of  compound  proportion,  solved,  however,  on  the  same 
principles. 

Miles.     Miles. 

Days,      13  :  12  >  273  . 
Hours,      7  :  10  ]  * 
Dividing  273  by  13  and  by  7,  or  by  their  product,  91, 

1  •  12  ) 
\  in  >  3  :  #=360,  by  inspection. 

"  8.  If  6  men  build  a  wall  20  feet  long,  6  feet  high,  and 
4  feet  thick,  in  16  days,  in  what  time  will  24  men  build  one 
200  feet  long,  8  feet  high,  and  6  feet  thick  ? 
24  :  6      )  Contracting,  $  H  :  0  2        ]    4 

20  :  200  I  1fi  n  :  200  10  I  *0  :  x=8Q, 

6:8)  0  :  $  [by  inspect. 

4:  6      j  4:0  J 

"  This  was  done  by  dividing  24  and  8  by  8  ;  20  and  200 
by  20  ;  3  and  6  (first  ratio)  by  3  ;  6  and  6  by  6  ;  4  and  16 
by  4.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  observe,  that  in  these  ab- 
breviations all  the  Is  have  been  omitted,  as  the  multiplying 
or  dividing  by  that  number  can  produce  no  change. 

"  There  being  a  greater  variety  of  numbers  in  compound 


ARITHMETIC.  465 

proportion,  it  admits  of  contractions  more  frequently  than 
simple  proportion,  though  there  may  be  some  questions 
which  are  not  susceptible  of  any.  When  multiplication 
has  to  be  performed,  it  should  be  recollected  that  the  left- 
hand  extreme  and  the  first  mean  consist  of  several  numbers, 
the  product  of  which  being  severally  taken,  we  proceed  as 
in  simple  proportion.  The  teacher  should  be  careful  to 
impress  on  his  pupils  the  necessity  of  asking  the  question, 
More  or  less  1  previously  to  the  writing  down  of  every  ratio. 

"9.  If  $100  gain  $6  in  one  year,  what  will  $400  gain 
in  9  months  ? 

100  :  400  )  Dividing  by  100,  C  1  :  2  \ 

12:9      5  b  and  6,  and  2,     \  1  :  9  \  l  '  X~ 

"  INTEREST. — Let  the  subject  of  interest  be  explained 
from  any  of  the  popular  books  on  Arithmetic  ;  adding,  the 
words  per  cent.,  per  ann.,  are  either  expressed  or  under- 
stood, in  every  question  respecting  interest,  immediately 
after  the  rate.  Per  cent,  means  for  every  hundred.  Per 
ann.  means  for  every  year.  When  the  rate  is  not  express- 
ed, six  is  always  understood. 

"  For  instance,  in  the  following  question,  What  is  the  in- 
terest of  $11.04  for  1  year,  at  3  per  cent.  1  the  words  per 
annum  are  understood.  And  in  the  question,  What  is  the 
interest  of  $150  for  16  days  ?  the  words  at  6  per  cent,  per 
ann.  are  understood,  and  must  be  supplied  in  stating  the 
question.  From  the  want  of  a  clear  understanding  of  the 
terms  employed,  many  pupils  find  the  subject  of  interest 
exceedingly  difficult.  Let  the  teacher  repeatedly  question 
his  class,  till  he  is  sure  they  are  thoroughly  understood. 

"  Case  I. — Principal,  time,  and  rate,  given,  to  find  the  in- 
terest or  amount. 

"  10.  What  is  the  interest  of  $11.04  for  1  year,  at  3  per 
cent.  ? 

100   :  11.04}  - 

11  f     V   •     Mf* 

yr. :  1  yr.   $ 

Dividing  by  100,  j  J  j  •11(l*  \  3  :  x=  .3312,  by  inspection. 


466  THE    SCHOOL. 

"11.  What  is  the  interest  of  $150  for  16  days  ? 
100  :  150  )  _  Divide  by  100,  (  1  :  .15  )  . 

360  :    16  $  °  10,  and  6,      \  6  :   16  $  L 

Divide  by  6  ;  that  is,  the  upper  by  3,  the  lower  by  2. 

1  :  .05  > 

g  S  x=  .4,  by  inspection. 

''  Case  II. — The  time,  rate  per  cent.,  arid  amount,  given, 
to  find  the  principal. 

"  12.  What  sum  of  money,  put  at  interest  at  6  per  cent., 
will  amount  to  $61.02  in  1  year  and  4  months  ? 

"  Here,  as  we  have  only  one  amount  given,  we  must  find 
another,  at  the  same  rate  and  time,  to  complete  the  ratio. 
Let  us  find  the  amount  of  $100. 

100  :  100 
12:  16 

Divide  by  100  and  12,  <  ,  '  ft  >  1  :  #=8,  interest. 

100,  principal. 

$108,  amount. 

Amt.        Amt.         Princ. 

108:  61.02=  100:  x. 

Removing  the  dot,  viz.,  multiplying  by  100,  and  dividing  bv 
108,  gives  x= $56.50." 

"  Case  III. — Time,  rate,  and  interest  given,  to  find  the 
principal. 

"  13.  What  sum  of  money,  put  at  interest  16  months,  will 
gain  $10.50  at  6  per  cent.  ? 

6:10.50? 
16:12       $*' 

Divide  by  12   and  I  1  :  1050  >       x  =  l3L25by  inspect'n.» 
remove  the  dot,     (  8  :  1         $ 

"  Case  IV. — Principal,  interest,  and  time  given,  to  find 
the  rate  per  cent. 

"  14.  If  I  pay  $3.78  interest  for  the  use  of  $36  for  18 
months,  what  is  the  rate  per  cent.  ? 


ARITHMETIC.  467 

"  Here  we  suppress  the  dot  and  strike  out  100  ;  divide 
36  and  12  by  12  ;  and  divide  378  by  3  x  18=5<i. 

"  Case  V. — Principal,  rate  per  cent.,  and  interest,  given, 
to  find  the  time. 

"  15.  The  interest  on  a  note  of  $36,  at  7  per  cent.,  was 
$3.78.  What  was  the  time  ? 


'5:'*«.rJ»:«=18inoiifli8. 

ft  :  ?. /Up  ) 

18 

"  A  very  few  questions,  worked  out  on  the  blackboard  by 
an  intelligent  teacher,  will  give  his  pupils  a  practical  knowl- 
edge of  the  whole  system  of  arithmetic,  which  could  not 
be  easily  attained  by  any  other  means ;  and  they  will  be 
able  to  perform  such  questions  as  the  above,  after  a  little 
practice,  with  still  fewer  figures." 

Most  of  the  questions  just  solved  by  the  Rule  of  Three, 
admit  of  easy  solution  by  Mental  Arithmetic  ;  and  all  of 
them  may  be  readily  solved  by  the  method  of  fractions, 
which  is  the  shape  which  the  mental  processes  of  Colburn's 
First  Lessons  take,  when  wrought  out  on  the  slate.  The 
teacher  should  make  himself  familiarly  acquainted  with  all 
these  methods.  He  may  then  adopt  in  teaching  whichever 
he  finds  best  suited  to  his  pupils,  or  whichever  he  prefers  ; 
or  he  may  communicate  all  to  his  classes,  and  enable 
them,  in  the  solution  of  each  problem,  to  apply  such  of  the 
methods  as  is  best  adapted  to  its  particular  conditions.  The 
solutions  are  given  below.  The  questions  are  referred  to 
by  their  numbers. 

1.  If  a  piece  4  yards  long  cost  12  dollars,  one  yard  will 
cost  one  fourth  of  12,  or  3,  and  7  yards  will  cost  7  times  3 
dollars,  or  21  :  indicated  thus,  ^^=  (by  cancelling  the  fac- 
tor 4  above  and  below  the  line)  —=21. 

2.  If  9  bbls.  cost  $54,  1  will  cost  one  ninth  of  54,  or  $6, 


468  THE    SCHOOL. 

and  for  $186  maybe  purchased  as  many  bbls.  as  6  are  con- 
tained times,  in  186,  which  is  31. 


6 

3.  If  3  men  perform  the  work  in  10  days,  it  will  take  6 
men  half  as  long,  or  5  days. 

4.  One  fourth  of  40  is  10,  three  fourths,  30. 

5.  A's  and  B's  stocks  together  are  $600.     They  gain 
$400.     Each  dollar  gains  f  ££ths  or  f  ths  or  |ds  of  1  dollar. 
250  gain  250  times  £~!=$166f  .    350  gain  350  times  f  = 


The  6th  has  a  solution  essentially  the  same  by  both  meth- 
ods. 

7.  If  a  man  travel  273  miles  in  13  days,  at  7  hours  a  day, 
in  1  day  he  will  travel  -Jgth  of  273,  or  21,  and  in  1  hour  |th  of 
21,  or  3  miles.  In  10  hours  he  will  travel  10  times  3,  or  30 
miles ;  and  in  12  days,  12  times  30,  or  360  miles.  This 
may  be  indicated  thus,  placing  the  numbers  to  be  divided 
by,  below,  and  those  to  be  multiplied  by,  above  the  line,  and 
indicating  the  successive  steps  by  the  letters  taken  alpha- 
betically : 

/^3 
a  tH$xd  10 xe  12     QRrt 


In  every  case,  the  numbers  used  to  divide  by  should  be 
placed  below  the  line,  and  those  used  to  multiply  by, 
above  it. 

8.  If  6  men  build  such  a  wall  in  (a)  16  days,  1  man  will 
require  (b)  6  times  as  long,  or  96  days,  and  (c)  24  men  will 
do  it  in  ^jth  part  of  the  time,  or  4  days.  If  the  wall  were 
1  foot  thick,  it  would  require  (fZ)  £th  part  of  that  time,  or  1 
day  to  build  it ;  if  it  were  but  1  foot  long,  it  would  require 


ARITHMETIC.  469 

but  (e)  ¥^th  part  of  that  time  to  build  it ;  and  if  1  foot  only 
high*  (/)  ith  Part  of  that  time,  namely,  Ti^th  of  1  day.  But 
as  it  is  to  be  (g)  6  feet  thick,  it  will  require  T£oths,  or  J5th ; 
as  it  is  to  be  8  feet  high,  it  will  require  (h)  /^ths ;  and  as  it 
is  to  be  200  feet  long,  it  will  require  (i)  200  times  -fftiis,  or 
80  days.  This  process  may  be  represented  thus,  and  the 
cancelling  be  performed  afterward. 
mlO 

— =80,  by  cancelling  6  in/and  g,  6 
in  b  and  c,  16  in  a,  and  hi  d  and  k, 
and  20  in  e  and  i. 

9.  If  $100  gain  $6  in  one  year,  $400  will  gain  4x6, 
or  $24,  in  1  year,  and  three  fourths  as  much,  or  $18,  in  9 
months. 

6x400x3 

10.  Interest  at  3  per  cent,  is  rf^8  °f  ^e  principal; 
therefore  n'^-  =  .3312  is  the  interest  of  $11.04.     Here 

1 1.04  is  divided  by  100,  by  removing  the  decimal  point  two 
places  to  the  left. 

1 1.  If  the  interest  is  6  per  cent,  for  1  year,  or  12  months, 
it  is  1  per  cent,  for  2  months,  or  60  days :  that  is,  for 
$150,  the  interest  is  $1.50  for  60  days.     For  12  days  it 
is  one  fifth  of  that,  or  .30,  and  for  4  days,  one  third  of  that, 
or  .10;  for  16  days  it  is  therefore  .30 +.  10 =.40. 

5  1.50 


.30 
10 


.40 

12.  At  6  per  cent.,  $100  will  amount  in  1  year  and  4 
months  to  $108:  $ 6 1.02  is,  therefore,  }|$ths  of  the  sum  to 
be  put  on  interest. 

61.02  xlOO_ 

~Io¥^ 

R  R 


470  THE    SCHOOL. 

Multiply  by  100  by  removing  the  dot  two  places  to  the 
right. 

13.  In  16  months,  or  1  year  and  1  third,  the  interest  of 
$100  will  amount  to  $8.  The  sum  ought,  therefore,  to  be 
if^ths  of  $10.50. 

10.50  X100 


14.  As  $3.78  is  the  interest  for  18  months,  two  thirds 
of  that  sum,  $2.52,  must  be  the  interest  for  12  months,  or  1 
year  ;  and  as  6  per  cent,  is  six  dollars  on  a  hundred,  so 
the  rate  per  cent,  here  must  be  2.52  on  36.,  or  ?^-ths, 
which,  reduced  to  a  whole  number  or  decimal,  must  give 
the  rate  per  cent. 
7 

$.fl$x$     M       „ 

—  —  -^=.07,  or  7  per  cent. 


15.  The  interest  on  $36,  at  7  per  cent.,  for  1  year,  is 
$2.52  ;  therefore  the  time  is  |||ds  of  1  year. 

050  =  (cancelling  9)  28=  (cancelling  14)  -^=U  year. 

If  the  teacher  wish  to  communicate  intelligibly  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  roots,  and  of  progression,  he  may  give,  in  a  few 
lessons  on  the  blackboard,  enough  of  Algebra  to  enable  his 
pupils  to  comprehend  them.  Sherwin's  or  Colburn's  Alge- 
bra will  furnish  the  means. 

SECTION  VII.       ACCOUNTS. 

CONNECTED  with  Arithmetic,  and  the  great  practical  end 
for  which  it  should  be  studied,  is  the  knowledge  of  Ac- 
counts. This  has  been  greatly  neglected.  It  seems  al- 
most absurd  to  spend  so  much  time  as  is  usually  devoted  to 
Arithmetic,  and  especially  to  the  subject  of  Interest,  in 
preparation  for  the  management  of  Accounts,  and  yet  not 
to  teach  the  very  thing  for  which  all  this  preparation  is 


ACCOUNTS  471 

made.  Many  parts  of  Arithmetic  commonly  taught  at 
school  are,  to  most  persons,  matters  of  mere  curiosity.  It 
is  very  well  to  learn  them,  if  there  be  time  enough,  but  to 
omit  them  would  be  no  serious  loss.  While  a  knowledge 
of  Accounts  is  necessary  to  every  person  who  is  likely  ever 
to  have  property  of  his  own,  or  the  management  of  the 
property  of  another. 

It  is  necessary  to  thrift.  The  merchant  or  dealer,  on  a 
large  or  small  scale,  cannot  tell  definitely  whether  the  busi- 
ness he  is  engaged  in  is  productive  or  not,  unless  he  keeps 
an  exact  account  of  his  payments  and  receipts.  The  farm- 
er cannot  be  sure  how  much  more  or  less  productive  one 
branch  of  husbandry  is  than  another,  without  an  account  of 
the  outlay  and  income  of  both. 

It  is  necessary  to  economy.  The  minister,  or  clerk,  or 
teacher  on  a  salary,  the  head  of  a  family  with  a  limited 
income,  or  the  mechanic  with  a  fixed  rate  of  wages,  cannot 
tell  what  he  can  or  ought  to  afford,  what  expenses  he  may 
allow,  and  what  he  must  deny  himself,  unless  he  knows, 
from  month  to  month,  what  is  his  income  and  what  are  his 
expenses. 

It  is  necessary  to  justice.  Whoever  deals  on  credit, 
even  for  a  limited  period,  whoever  receives  or  parts  with 
money,  goods,  labour,  or  time,  for  which  an  equivalent  is  to 
be  given  or  received  hereafter,  must  keep  an  exact  account 
with  every  person  with  whom  he  deals,  or  have  a  memory 
from  which  no  particular  of  time,  place,  quantity,  or  value 
can  be  erased,  or  he  will  necessarily  run  the  risk  of  doing 
injustice  to  himself  or  his  neighbour.  If  I  have  given  my 
note  or  my  promise  to  pay,  I  am  bound  to  make  timely  pro 
vision  beforehand  for  the  resumption  of  my  note  and  the  re- 
demption of  my  promise.  This  I  must  do ;  and  this  I  can- 
not do  with  absolute  certainty,  unless  I  know  precisely 
how  much  I  may  lay  aside  for  the  purpose  each  week  or 
month,  until  the  day  of  payment  comes.  If  I  look  upon 


472  THE    SCHOOL. 

what  I  have  as  the  gift  of  God,  and  mys^Jf  as  his  steward, 
and  therefore  bound  to  devote  what  I  can  spare  from  the 
claims  of  family,  kindred,  and  friends,  to  the  relief  of  the 
sufferings,  the  wants,  or  the  ignorance  of  His  children,  I 
cannot,  without  exactness  in  my  accounts,  be  sure  that  I 
am  opening  my  hand  in  charity  without  a  violation  of  the 
more  imperative  demands  of  justice. 

Every  one,  therefore,  should  be  taught  accounts  ;  and  the 
teacher  should  be  prepared  to  explain  such  modes  of  keep- 
ing them  as  are  best  suited  to  the  probable  future  condition 
of  his  pupils.  This  is  not  the  place  for  a  system  of  Book- 
keeping :  it  may  be  sufficient  to  say,  that  every  person, 
male  and  female,  should  be  taught  how  to  keep  personal 
accounts,  and  an  account  of  the  expenses  of  a  family  ;  that, 
in  addition  to  these,  the  future  farmer  should  be  shown  how 
to  keep  accounts  of  a  field  or  a  particular  crop,  as  well  as 
of  his  whole  operations  ;  that  the  mechanic  should  be  taught 
to  keep  an  account  of  the  expenses  and  income  of  his  shop 
or  trade  ;  and  the  future  merchant  or  trader  should  be  taught 
book-keeping  by  double  entry. 

Personal  accounts  may  be  taught  on  the  blackboard  to 
a  class  or  the  whole  school  at  once.  Care  should  be  taken 
to  explain  familiarly  what  is  meant  by  Dr.  and  Cr. ;  a  speci- 
men like  the  following  should  be  given,  and  then  each  pupil 
be  required,  according  to  his  capacity,  to  form  similar  ac- 
counts on  his  slate,  and  afterward  on  paper. 

Dr.  John  Thompson.  Contra  Cr. 

1842.  1842. 


May  20.  To  cash,  $1  50 

21.  To  2  bushels  corn,  1  30 
23.  To  3  yds.  br'dcloth,  6  60 


89  40 


May  24.  By  1  day's  labour,  $1  25 
25.  By  1  day's  labour,     1  25 

27.  By  i  ton  hay,  4  00 

28.  By  cash  to  balance,  2  90 

$940 


GEOGRAPHY. 


473 


SPECIMEN    OF    A    FARMERS    FIELD    ACCOUNT. 


Dr.  The  Five-acre  Lot. 
1842. 

Apr.  11.  To  3  days'  plough- 
ing, $6  00 
12,  13.  To  30  loads  of  ma- 
nure, 30  00 
14.  To  H  days'  harrow- 
ing. 3  00 
To  5  bush,  seed  wh.,  5  50 
To  3  days'  reaping,  '  4  50 
To  binding  &  carting,  4  00 
To  threshing,  6  00 
To  interest  on  land,   5  00 
To  balance  gain,       19  00 

$8300 


lug. 
.sept. 


Contra  Cr. 
1842. 
Oct.  21,  By  74  bushels 

wheat, 
By  straw, 
By  feeding, 


400 
500 


$8300 


SECTION    VIII.    GEOGRAPHY. 


"  To  the  reading  of  history,  chronology  and  geography  are  abso- 
lutely necessary." — LOCKE. 

THE  first  lesson  in  Geography  should  be,  to  set  the  class 
to  draw  a  plan,  as  well  as  they  can,  of  the  schoolroom. 
This  every  one  will  do  readily  who  has  been  encouraged 
to  use  his  slate,  and  many  a  child  of  eight  or  ten  years  will 
do  it  accurately,  and  even  beautifully.  It  is  only  necessary 
that  it  should  be  done.  Then  the  cardinal  points,  in  refer- 
ence to  the  plan,  should  be  shown.  "  This  side,  with  the 
window,  into  which  the  sun  shines  in  the  morning,  is  the 
East  side  ;  the  opposite  one  is  the  West  side.  This  side, 
where  the  sun  shines  straight  in  at  noon,  is  the  South  side  ; 
and  the  opposite  side,  where  the  master's  desk  is,  is  North. 
Let  this  north  side  be  at  the  top  of  the  plan.  Now  this  is 
a  map  of  the  room.  I  have  directed  you  all  to  have  the 
north  side  at  the  top  of  your  map,  that  all  may  be  alike,  and 
you  may  always  know,  when  you  look  at  it,  which  is  north." 
Any  other  explanations  may  be  made  that  are  necessary ; 
as,  that  the  seats  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  room  are  to 
RR  2 


474  THE    SCHOOL. 

be  represented  towards  the  top  and  towards  the  right  side 
of  the  plan,  &c. 

The  next  lesson  may  be  a  plan  of  the  lot  on  which  the 
schoolhouse  stands,  with  a  part  of  the  road  running  near  it, 
care  being  taken,  now  and  at  all  times,  to  represent  the 
north  side  by  the  top  of  the  plan.  The  fences  may  be  rep- 
resented by  lines,  and  trees  and  other  objects  may  be  drawn, 
as  well  as  they  can  draw  them,  in  the  places  they  occupy. 

For  a  third  lesson,  the  teachers,  may  draw  on  the  black- 
board a  plan  or  map  of  the  vicinity  of  the  schoolhouse, 
with  the  roads  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  each  direction,  and 
houses,  streams,  or  any  other  remarkable  object.  This  the 
class  may  copy. 

If  there  be  a  map  of  the  town  accessible,  the  next  lesson 
should  be  an  explanation  of  that ;  showing  how  all  the 
roads,  buildings,  forests,  hills,  and  other  objects  with  which 
the  pupils  are  acquainted,  are  represented,  and  giving  an 
idea  of  distance. 

The  next  step  should  be,  if  possible,  a  map  of  the  coun- 
ty, showing  how  much  less  space  the  town  now  necessa- 
rily occupies,  and  what  towns  are  north,  east,  &c.,  from  it. 
The  next  step  should  be  a  map  of  the  state  ;  and  thence  the 
progress  should  be  to  that  of  the  country,  of  the  continent, 
and  the  world  as  represented  on  a  globe. 

It  may  not  always  be  possible  to  take  this  course,  ll 
not,  the  nearest  approach  to  it  possible  should  be  made.  It 
is  the  natural  method, — from  the  known  and  familiar,  to  the 
unknown.  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  the  first 
ideas  and  impressions  should  be  correct  and  clear.  This 
will  throw  light  upon  every  future  step,  and  do  more  than 
anything  else  to  render  the  study  intelligible  and  delightful. 
I  tried  a  similar  method  with  one  of  my  children  with  com- 
plete success.  When  I  had  taken  him,  then  four  or  five 
years  old  and  just  able  to  read,  to  walk  with  me  in  the 
streets  of  Boston,  I  pointed  out,  at  our  return,  on  a  map 


GEOGRAPHY.  475 

of  the  city,  our  path,  the  streets  we  had  passed  through, 
and  the  course  we  had  taken.  This  was  done  after  walks 
to  all  parts  of  the  town.  I  then  took  him  with  me  in  my 
drives  ;  first  to  Brookline  on  one  side  of  the  town,  and,  suc- 
cessively, to  Cambridge  on  another  side,  and  to  Chelsea 
Beach  on  a  third ;  pointing  out  each  time,  on  our  return, 
upon  a  map  of  Boston  and  its  vicinity,  the  roads  we  had 
taken  and  the  places  we  had  visited.  He  afterward  ac- 
companied me  on  a  journey  to  Maine,  and  I  showed  him, 
as  before,  on  a  map  of  New-England,  the  road  and  course 
we  had  taken,  the  towns  we  had  passed  through,  and  the 
rivers  we  had  crossed.  The  same  was  done  after  a  jour- 
ney to  the  western  part  of  Massachusetts.  He  in  this  way 
obtained,  from  the  beginning,  correct  impressions  of  the  ob- 
jects which  maps  represent.  He  has  always  been,  up  to 
the  present  time,  extremely  fond  of  maps,  pores  over  them 
for  hours  for  his  amusement,  and  always  chooses  to  have  one 
open  before  him  as  he  reads  history,  which  is  one  of  his 
favourite  occupations.  It  will  rarely  happen  that  a  teacher 
of  a  school  can  have  so  favourable  opportunities  for  his  pu- 
pils. But  a  parent  who  has  the  happiness  of  teaching  hia 
own  children,  may  often  have. 

When  correct  impressions  have  been  given  of  the  objects 
represented  by  maps,  the  geography  of  the  state  may  be 
learned.  Great  care  should  be  taken  to  give  an  idea  of  the 
motion  of  the  earth  on  its  axis,  and  thence  of  longitude  and 
latitude,  as  there  is  nothing  in  geography  of  which  children 
are  so  apt  to  get  false  ideas.  For  this  purpose,  a  globe 
should  be  considered  an  essential  part  of  the  apparatus  of 
a  school.  Much  time  is  usually  spent,  to  little  purpose,  in 
learning  the  names  of  unknown,  and,  therefore,  speedily-for- 
gotten places  ;  and  still  more  in  studying  and  trying  to  re- 
member the  climate,  soil,  cities,  &c.,  of  countries.  It  is 
nearly  impossible  for  a  child  to  remember,  by  an  absolute 
effort,  that  with  which  he  has  no  associations.  It  should, 


476  THE    SCHOOL. 

then,  be  the  object  of  the  teacher  to  connect  what  is  learn- 
ed with  what  is  already  known,  and  to  give  agreeable  asso- 
ciations to  be  connected  with  things  unknown. 

The  learner  should  from  the  beginning,  if  possible,  be  set 
to  copy  the  maps  he  is  studying.  This  act  impresses  on 
the  mind  the  outlines,  boundaries,  rivers,  hills,  lakes,  and 
position  of  towns,  better  than  any  other  exercise,  and  it  is 
far  more  agreeable  to  the  learner.  Out  of  a  large  number 
of  pupils  who  have  been  taught  in  this  way,  not  one  has 
been  found  incapable  of  making  pretty  correct  representa- 
tions, not  one  who  did  not  take  great  pleasure  in  the  exer- 
cise, and  not  one  who  did  not  improve  in  it  very  rapidly. 
When  each  one  of  a  class  has  drawn  a  map  without  any 
names,  a  satisfactory  examination  as  to  how  much  they 
know  of  the  objects  represented,  may  be  made  in  a  very  short 
time.  This  may  be  conducted  either  individually,  each 
looking  at  his  own  map,  or  by  means  of  the  excellent  out 
line  maps  of  Mather,  prepared  for  this  purpose. 

For  each  lesson  in  Geography  the  teacher  should  make 
special  preparation.  If  he  will  do  this,  he  may  always  ren- 
der the  exercise  very  interesting,  and  he  may  make  it  the 
vehicle  of  a  great  deal  of  instruction  in  history,  morals,  and 
civilization.  Suppose,  to  give  an  instance  or  two,  the  les- 
son included  Iceland.  He  may  take  the  occasion  to  speak 
of  its  extraordinary  natural  features — a  small  land,  and  yet 
traversed  by  almost  impassable  mountains  and  deserts  ;  of 
its  icebergs,  and 'of  the  immense  eruptions  of  its  volcanoes. 
He  may  dwell  upon  that  phenomenon  in  the  history  of  man- 
kind, that  while  learning  hardly  dared  to  lift  her  head  in  the 
rest  of  Europe,  she  had  her  home  in  the  ice-encircled  and 
half-subterranean  huts  of  the  Icelanders  ;  that  they  had  po- 
ets and  historians  when  the  names  poet  and  historian  were 
hardly  elsewhere  known  ;  and  he  may  tell  of  its  colonization 
by  the  sea-kings,  its  early  history,  and  the  state  of  things  at 
that  time  in  the  north  of  Europe.  All  this  he  may  get  by 


GEOGRAPHY.  477 

an  evening's  reading  of  the  interesting  volume  on  Iceland, 
which  forms  the  155th  No.  of  the  School  District  Library. 

If  the  lesson  is  upon  Greece,*  he  may  give,  in  a  few 
words,  some  idea  of  the  remarkable  people  who  occupied 
that  country  in  ancient  times,  the  fathers  of  the  arts,  scien- 
ces, and  literature,  the  remarkable  institutions,  the  immense 
and  beautiful  structures,  the  perfect  language,  the  famous 
men. 

In  the  Geography  of  New-England,  he  may  speak  of 
the  early  acts  of  the  Revolution  at  Lexington  or  Charles- 
town,  and  the  earlier  events  at  Plymouth  or  Mount  Hope ; 
on  New- York,  of  Ticonderoga,  West  Point,  &c.  In  speak- 
ing of  our  early  history  or  late,  he  should  not  fail  to  speak 
a  word  for  humanity  in  pointing  out  the  cruelty  and  injus- 
tice of  our  ancestors  and  their  descendants  to  the  present 
day  towards  the  original  possessors  of  the  soil. 

There  is  scarcely  anything  which  a  studious  person 
picks  up  in  voyages  and  travels,  histories,  books  of  geolo- 
gy and  natural  history,!  which  may  not  be  naturally  intro- 
duced to  give  variety  and  interest  to  the  lessons  in  geogra- 
phy. After  he  has  talked  himself,  he  should  question  his 
pupils  upon  what  he  has  said,  both  to  quicken  their  atten- 
tion and  to  get  access  to  their  understanding.  The  lessons 
may  be  varied  by  sometimes  setting  the  class  to  find  out 
from  what  parts  of  the  world  come  the  various  articles  em- 
ployed for  food,  dress,  furniture,  and  the  several  arts  ;  making 
an  imaginary  voyage  round  the  world  or  to  a  particular 
port,  and  noting  the  objects  which  would  present  them- 
selves, and  the  articles  which  would  be  found  and  those 
which  it  would  be  necessary  to  carry.  Another  lesson,  or 

*  See  Goldsmith's  Greece,  in  the  81st  No.  of  School  District  Li- 
brary, or  the  3d  and  4th  volumes  of  Rollin's  Ancient  History. 

t  Many  curious  facts  on  the  subjects  of  Natural  History  may  be 
found  in  that  delightful  work,  White's  History  of  Selborne,  School 
District  Library,  No.  166. 


478  THE    SCHOOL. 

several,  may  be  given  upon  the  government  of  different 
countries  ;  upon  their  religion,  their  intelligence,  their  com- 
merce, and  other  pursuits.  The  comparative  value  of  gold 
and  silver,  on  the  one  hand,  and  iron  and  industry  on  the 
other,  may  be  shown  by  pointing  out  the  fact  that  there  is 
scarcely  an  instance  in  history  of  a  country  having  grown 
rich  from  the  possession  of  mines  of  what  are  called  the 
precious  metals,  and  none  naturally  so  sterile  as  not  to  have 
become  independent  and  wealthy,  with  industry  and  such 
resources  as  iron,  coal,  and  salt.  Mexico,  Peru,  and  Old 
Spain  are  wretched  and  poor,  with  streams  of  gold  and  sil- 
ver flowing  into  them  for  hundreds  of  years  ;  and  Scotland, 
New-England,  and  Old  England,  comparatively  barren  ori- 
ginally, have  become  rich,  and  the  happy  abodes  of  free 
and  intelligent  men,  by  the  industry  and  energy  of  their  in- 
habitants acting  upon  such  productions  as  nothing  but  skill 
and  slow  labour  can  work  out  for  the  necessities  and  con- 
venience of  men 

A  more  difficult  exercise  than  copying  maps,  and  one 
suited  to  a  higher  state  of  progress,  is  requiring  a  class  to 
be  prepared  to  draw  a  map,  from  recollection,  on  the  slate 
or  blackboard.  In  this  exercise,  which  is  strongly  to  be 
recommended,  at  its  proper  time,  much  allowance  must  be 
made  for  the  difference  that  exists  between  individuals 
otherwise  equal,  as  to  the  power  of  representing  from  mem- 
ory. Unless  regard  be  had  to  this  difference,  injustice  will 
be  done  to  the  best  intentions  and  efforts. 

A  method  used  with  great  success  by  Professor  Newman 
at  the  normal  school  at  Barre,  was  to  call  on  one  of  the 
class  to  draw  an  outline  of  the  country  on  the  blackboard. 
A  second  was  to  draw  the  river  courses  and  lakes ;  a  third 
the  mountains.  A  fourth  mentioned  some  large  place  ;  a 
fifth  gave  its  position  by  writing  1  on  the  blackboard  ;  a 
sixth  named  a  second  place,  which  a  seventh  indicated  by 
2.  In  this  way  all  the  important  places  were  represented 


HISTORY.  479 

oy  numbers,  and  the  examination  of  the  topography  was 
concluded  by  calling  individuals  at  random  to  name  the 
several  places  so  indicated. 

SECTION  IX.    HISTORY. 

"Histories  make  men  wise." — BACON. 

HISTORY  cannot  be  fully  taught  at  any  school.  All  that 
can  be  accomplished  in  regard  to  the  history  of  any  other 
country  than  our  own,  is  to  give  sketches  or  pictures  of 
certain  important  periods  or  events.  The  abridgments  and 
compends  of  history  often  used,  do  little  more  than  disgust 
children  with  the  study.  The  teacher's  object  should  be  to 
give  them  such  pictures  as  will  win  them  to  it. 

Some  idea  of  the  most  important  periods  of  history  might 
be  given  in  connexion  with  the  lives  of  certain  individuals. 
Such  are  the  following.  After  the  interesting  events  re- 
corded in  the  first  chapters  of  Genesis  : 

The  patriarchal  period,  as  given  in  the  lives  of  Abraham, 
Isaac,  Jacob,  and  Joseph,  of  which  a  portion  only  should  be 
read  in  school.  The  personal  history  of  Moses,  of  David, 
and  of  Solomon.  All  these  are  to  be  found  only  in  the  Old 
Testament. 

The  life  of  Hector  and  that  of  Ulysses,  as  given  by 
Homer,  in  Pope's  Homer.  The  life  of  Xerxes.*  Pericles.* 
Alexander  of  Macedon.f 

Romulus  and  Numa.J  Brutus,  the  first  consul.^:  Han- 
nibal and  Scipio  Africanus.J  Pompey,  Caesar,  Cicero.J 
Augustus  4 

The  coming  of  Jesus  Christ.  Constantine.^  Attila.^ 
Mohammed. ||  Clovis.lT  Charlemagne. H  Alfred.  Haroun 

*  Goldsmith,  81st  No.  School  District  Library,  or  Plutarch's  Lives 
t  Rev.  J.  Williams,  32d  No.  School  DistrUt  Library.  J  Goldsmith, 
87th  No.  School  District  Library,  or  Plutarch's  Lives.  $  History  of 
Italy,  Family  Library,  No.  79.  II  Bush's  Life  of  Mohammed,  Family 
Library,  No.  10,  or  the  History  of  Arabia,  No.  68.  V  James.  Fam- 
ily Library,  No.  60,  School  District  Library,  No.  176. 


480  THE    SCHOOL. 

al  Raschid.  Peter  the  Hermit.*  Richard  the  Lion-heart- 
ed.* Saladin.*  William  the  Conqueror.!  Cosmo  de  Med- 
ici. Columbus.^  Luther. §  Cromwell. ||  William  the  Third. 
Peter  the  Great,1!!  and  others  for  later  times. 

The  life  of  Washington,  which  may  be  found,  fully  enough 
delineated,  in  the  volumes  of  Paulding  in  the  School  District 
Library,  or  with  much  more  of  detail  in  Marshall,  will  suffice 
to  give  an  outline  of  the  history  of  our  country  immediately 
previous  to  and  during  the  Revolution  ;  as  the  life  of  Napo- 
leon Bonaparte,  also  contained  in  the  first  series  of  the 
School  District  Library,  may  give  of  the  French  Revolution. 
But  there  is  no  one  volume  which  contains  all,  or  even  the 
greater  part  of  the  lives  above  enumerated.  They  must  be 
collected  from  various  sources,  and  the  teacher  must  take 
pains  to  prepare  such  accounts  as  he  can  either  read,  or 
give  in  his  own  language.  History,  for  the  use  of  the 
young  especially,  is  still  to  be  written.  As  it  now  stands, 
it  is  occupied,  in  an  absurdly  undue  proportion,  with  wars, 
and  the  ambition  and  dissensions  of  the  falsely-called  great. 
What  relates  to  the  advancement  of  society,  what  shows 
the  progress  of  the  sciences  and  the  useful  and  the  fine  arts, 
and  the  records  of  the  various  stages  in  the  personal  liber- 
ty, rights,  and  enjoyments  of  individual  man,  must  be  la- 
boriously gleaned  from  distant  sources.**  You  will  find 

*  See  "  Chivalry,"  an  interesting  work  by  James,  School  District 
Library,  No.  26.  t  For  the  life  of  William  the  Conqueror,  and  the 
other  characters  referred  to  belonging  to  English  history,  see  Keight- 
ley,  School  District  Library,  102,  3,  4,  5,  6.  t  Irving  ;  or  Belknap, 
in  146th  No.  School  District  Library.  §  See  Luther's  Life  and 
Times.  II  See  his  life,  by  Rev.  M.  Russell,  in  the  36th  and  37th 
numbers  of  the  School  District  Library.  IT  See  Barrow's  life  of  him, 
in  the  35th  No.  of  the  School  District  Library. 

**  In  order  to  enable  him  to  understand  and  explain  many  things 
in  History  and  Geography,  the  teacher  should  have  some  acquaint- 
ance with  political  economy.  This  he  may  get  from  Dr.  Potter's 
work  on  that  subject,  School  District  Library,  No.  124. 


HISTORY.  481 

some  very  interesting  periods  in  the  history  of  science  and 
literature  sketched  in  the  Lives  of  the  Philosophers,  by 
Fenelon  ;*  Brewster's  Life  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton  ;f  in  the 
Martyrs  of  Science,  by  the  same  author;:}:  in  Franklin's 
Life  ;§  and  in  the  lives  of  Johnson||  and  Goldsmith. If 

History  is  -usually  taught  by  assigning  a  certain  number 
of  pages  in  some  text-book,  and  requiring  the  class  to  an- 
swer questions  in  them.  The  questions  are  either  prepa- 
red and  known  beforehand  to  the  pupil,  or  are  such  as  the 
teacher  pleases  to  ask  at  the  time  of  recitation.  The  dan- 
ger incident  to  the  use  of  prepared  questions  is,  that  the 
pupil  will  commit  to  memory  just  such  a  portion  of  the  text- 
book as  furnishes  answers.  This  process  gives  no  exer- 
cise to  discrimination,  judgment,  taste,  or  language.  It  is 
a  mere  exercise  of  memory.  The  other  mode  is  apt  to  be 
so  too.  The  faithful  and  ambitious  pupil  will  be  tempted 
to  commit  the  whole  lesson  to  memory,  and  to  answer  in 
the  words  of  the  author.  To  prevent  this  waste  of  time, 
the  teacher  should  encourage  his  pupils  to  answer  in  their 
own  language.  He  should  also  ask  questions  of  a  general 
nature,  such  as,  What  is  the  subject  of  this  lesson  ?  or  this 
chapter  ?  State,  in  a  few  words,  the  events  recorded  in  it. 
What  should  we  think  of  this  measure  ?  What  of  that 
character?  Questions  of  right  and  wrong  should  be  con- 
stantly brought  up  in  lessons  in  history. 

As  we  can  teach  so  little  of  History  at  school,  one  ob- 
ject should  be  to  show  how  it  should  be  studied ;  another, 
as  I  have  already  said,  to  create  an  interest  in  the  study. 
It  may  serve,  at  the  same  time,  to  exercise  the  attention, 
the  power  of  orderly  arrangement,  the  moral  judgment,  and 
the  use  of  language  in  narration.  •  To  answer  these  ends, 
it  is  best  taught  without  a  text-book,  the  teacher  himself 

*  School  District  Library,  No.  156.  t  Ibid.,  No.  27. 

t  Ibid.,  No.  152.  $  Ibid.,  No.  51.  II  Ibid.,  No.  122. 

T  Ibid.,  No.  109. 

Ss 


482  THE    SCHOOL. 

making  the  whole  preparation.  The  pupils  should  be  fur- 
nished with  maps,  or  a  large  map  should  be  suspended  be- 
fore them  by  the  side  of  the  blackboard.  If  the  pupils 
have  no  suitable  maps,  and  that  of  the  teacher  be  on  too 
small  a  scale  for  exhibition  to  a  class,  he  should  draw  on 
the  blackboard  a  magnified  outline  of  the  seat  of  the  event 

Care  should  first  be  taken  to  give  an  idea  of  the  remote- 
ness of  the  event  to  be  described,  by  tracing  a  line  on 
the  blackboard,  to  represent  two  or  more  years,  and  show- 
ing how  long  it  would  be  necessarry  to  draw  it  to  represent 
the  period  which  has  elapsed  since  the  event  occurred. 
The  date  may  be  given  on  the  blackboard,  and  the  place 
may  be  pointed  out  on  the  map,  or  mentioned,  and  the  pu- 
pil allowed  to  find  it  for  himself.  The  teacher  may  then 
read,  or,  what  is  far  better,  narrate  in  familiar  language, 
and  in  the  manner  of  conversation,  the  event,  or  series  of 
events,  which  he  intends  to  make  the  subject  of  the  lesson. 
If  his  pupils  are  beginners,  he  should  not  speak  long  before 
asking  questions  as  to  what  he  has  been  telling.  If  these 
are  made  frequent,  the  pupil  will  be  encouraged  to  give  his 
attention  to  the  end.  The  questions,  who  1  and  where  ? 
and  when  ?  as  well  as  what  1  should  be  asked.  When 
the  teacher's  narrative  is  finished,  he  should  ask  if  some 
one  will  not  undertake  to  tell  the  whole  story  in  his  own 
language.  Those  who  have  the  best  talent  for  narrative 
will  be  ready  to  do  this,  and,  after  some  little  practice, 
nearly  the  whole  class.  Or  the  teacher  may  say,  "  I  wish 
you  all  to  write  upon  your  slates  or  paper,  and  bring  to  me 
to-morrow,  what  you  can  remember  of  the  story  I  have  just 
told  you."  Questions  should  also  be  asked  as  to  the  moral 
right  or  wrong  of  the  characters  of  the  actois  in  the  event. 

Let  not  the  teacher  t&  discouraged  by  the  slow  progress 
he  seems  to  make.  In  the  usual  mode  of  teaching  Histo- 
ry, two  or  three  hours  are  often  spent  by  the  pupil  out  of 
school,  and  half  an  hour,  or  an  hour,  at  the  recitation  in 


PHYSIOLOGY.  483 

school,  upon  a  single  lesson  of  six  or  eight  pages  ;  and,  af- 
ter all,  very  little  is  learned  except  mere  facts,  and  those 
perhaps  indistinct  and  barren ;  while  in  this  way,  in  half 
an  hour,  two  or  three  pages  at  first,  and  afterward  five  or 
six,  or  even  ten,  will  be  learned,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
power  of  attention  be  improved,  the  moral  taste  elevated, 
the  power  of  narration  exercised,  and  the  connexion  be- 
tween History,  and  Chronology  and  Geography  will  be 
shown. 

In  the  introduction  to  the  excellent  School  History  of  the 
United  States,  by  Hall  and  Baker,  are  some  judicious  di- 
rections as  to  teaching  History  by  means  of  text-books, 
which  are  deserving  of  great  attention. 
• 

SECTION   X.    PHYSIOLOGY. 

"  There  is  no  mystery  into  which  mankind  are  more  curious  to 
pry,  than  into  that  of  their  internal  structure  ;  and  certainly  there 
is  none  on  earth  which  so  nearly  concerns  them." — E.  JOHNSON. 

NEXT  in  importance  to  the  indispensable  arts  which  are 
at  the  base  of  all  instruction,  and  before  Geography  and 
History,  is  Physiology,  the  laws  of  our  own  constitution. 
In  some  form  it  should  be  taught  in  every  school.  I  have 
already  shown  how  it  may  be  taught  in  the  general  lessons. 
When  it  can  be  done,  it  should  be  introduced  as  a  regular 
study.  As  in  importance,  so  in  interest  and  in  the  exercise 
it  gives  to  the  observant  and  reflecting  powers,  it  is  second 
to  no  other. 

There  are  several  good  works  upon  the  subject  published 
in  this  country, — Hayward,  Coates,  and  Andrew  Combe. 
Neither  of  these  is  complete.  The  last  seems  best  suited 
for  study  in  school,  although  the  first  is  most  elementary. 
The  teacher  should  have  the  two ;  and  if  he  uses  one  as  his 
class-book,  should  take  the  other  to  help  him  supply  its  de- 
ficiencies. 

Physiology  may  be  taught  in  the  same  way  as  history, 


484  THE    SCHOOL. 

the  teacher  only  having  the  book  and  requiring  attention, 
and  asking  all  the  necessary  questions  ;  or,  if  there  be  not 
time  for  this,  all  may  have  books,  and  come  prepared  for  ex- 
amination in  an  assigned  portion.  Take  care  that  they 
learn  not  words  only.  Insist  upon  answers  in  their  own 
language.  In  the  case  of  muscles,  and  bones,  and  in  what- 
ever else  it  can  with  perfect  delicacy  be  done,  let  the  learner 
find  what  is  described  in  his  own  body.  The  great  princi- 
ples should  be  frequently  brought  up,  and  made  familiar  by 
daily  repetition.  If  so,  they  will  become  an  integrant  part 
of  the  pupil's  knowledge ;  and  none  is  more  essential,  or 
more  fruitful  of  beneficial  effects. 

A  useful  exercise  in  composition  is  an  enumeration  of  the 
most  important  principles  on  a  particujar  part  of  Physiology, 
in  the  learner's  own  language  ;  or  his  inferences  from  one 
or  more ;  or  a  more  general  enumeration  of  the  leading 
principles  of  the  science.  . 

SECTION   XI.    COMPOSITION. 

"  What  is  this  power  which  puts  us  in  possession  of  the  future,— 
transports  us  to  all  distances, — makes  us  conceive  objects  invisible 
to  sense, — introduces  us  to  what  is  merely  possible, — sustains  our 
strength  by  hope, — extends  the  narrow  sphere  of  our  existence  be- 
yond the  limits  of  the  present?  May  it  not,  by  deepening  the 
sources  of  our  sensibility,  fertilize  the  field  of  our  virtue ?" — DEGB- 
RANDO. 

THE  modes  recommended  for  teaching  reading,  spelling, 
English  Grammar,  History,  and  Physiology,  all  furnish  ex- 
ercises in  composition.  If  those  modes  be  faithfully  and 
fairly  tried,  there  will  be  little  difficulty,  to  the  pupil  suffi- 
ciently advanced,  in  the  essay  or  theme  as  usually  required. 
But,  for  the  benefit  of  those  teachers  who  are  unable  or  un- 
willing to  depart  so  far  from  usual  methods  as  to  adopt 
these,  a  few  observations  upon  composition  will  be  given, 
and  exercises  or  steps  pointed  out  which  have  been  inferred 
from,  and  have  stood  the  test  of  experience.  1.  Simple 


COMPOSITION.  485 

sentences  are  to  be  written.  Several  words  are  given,  and 
the  pupils  are  required  to  write  a  sentence  so  as  to  brin^  in 
one  or  more  of  them.  Phrases  are  given  for  the  same  pur- 
pose, or  sentences  in  which  several  words  are  omitted, 
which  the  pupil  is  to  supply.  2.  Variety  of  arrangement  is 
taught  by  arranging  a  sentence  in  several  different  ways, 
and  assigning  others  for  practice.  3.  Variety  of  expression 
is  taught  by  showing  how  the  participle  may  be  substituted 
for  a  conjunction,  by  changing  an  active  verb  into  a  passive, 
and  the  reverse,  by  the  substitution  of  nearly  synonymous 
words,  by  circumlocution,  and  by  softened  expressions.  4. 
Compound  sentences  are  reduced  to  simple  ones,  and  these 
united  into  compound  ones.  5.  Poetical  sentences  are 
given,  to  be  expressed  in  prose.  6.  The  definition  of  words 
may  be  given  in  a  sentence,  and  several  sentences  may  be 
written  to  show  the  difference  in  the  meaning  of  two  words. 
7.  A  short  story  is  told,  which  the  pupil  must  write  in  his 
own  language.  The  heads  of  a  story  only  are  given,  which 
the  learner  is  to  make  into  a  connected  narrative,  or  to  am- 
plify from  his  own  imagination.  8.  Objects  are  assigned, 
to  be  described.  9.  The  figures  of  speech,  tropes,  meta- 
phors, allegories,  hyperbole,  personification,  apostrophe, 
simile,  antithesis,  climax,  &c.,  are  successively  explained, 
and  suitable  sentences  or  subjects  are  suggested,  on  which 
they  may  be  exemplified.  10.  Simple  and  compound 
themes  and  essays  are  explained,  models  are  given,  and  ex- 
ercises are  required.  The  above  is  a  rapid  outline  of 
"  Parker's  Progressive  Exercises  in  English  Composition," 
a  valuable  aid,  even  where  the  teacher  is  only  disposed  to 
take  hints  from  it. 

A  very  useful  exercise  in  composition,  after  the  pupil 
can  make  sentences,  is  writing  abstracts  of  sermons  or  lec- 
tures. In  this,  attention,  the  power  of  arrangement,  and 
the  use  of  language  are  exercised,  while  the  thoughts  are 
furnished.  It  is  adapted  to  one  who  is  almost  a  beginner, 
S  s  2 


486  THE    SCHOOL. 

and  is  at  the  same  time  an  excellent  practice  for  an  accom- 
plished writer. 

Descriptions  of  objects  in  nature  or  art,  of  the  mill  or 
the  manufactory,  the  village,  a  walk  in  the  forest,  the  rising 
of  the  sun,  the  stillness  of  night,  a  storm,  a  sunny  day,  a 
drive,  of  any  object  or  event  which  is  calculated  to  interest 
the  feelings  or  awaken  thought,  are  obvious  and  suitable  ex- 
ercises. Familiar  letters  to  friends,  imaginary  ones  to  the 
birds  or  the  stars,  to  characters  in  history  or  in  distant 
parts  of  the  earth  ;  journals  of  occurring  events  ;  criticism 
upon  works  that  have  been  read ;  opinions  upon  subjects 
that  have  been  discussed  in  school ;  upon  those  suggested 
by  the  daily  studies  ; — these  will  be  interesting  to  children, 
will  be  felt  to  be  within  their  capacity,  and  will  exercise 
their  judgment  and  their  imagination.  There  are  usually 
several  in  every  school  who  have  a  talent  for  versification, 
and  nearly  all  may  be  made  to  measure  syllables  and  col- 
lect rhymes.  Such  trials  should  be  encouraged,  chiefly  on 
account  of  the  greater  pleasure  they  give  to  the  reading  of 
poetry.* 

The  above  are  offered  as  methods  of  teaching  which 
have  been  found  successful ;  not  as  the  best  possible,  but 
as  somewhat  better  than  many  of  those  now  in  common 
use.  They  are  all  susceptible  of  improvement,  and  the  at- 
tention of  all  teachers  is  invited  to  the  subject  of  improving 
them. 

Whoever  examines  schools,  will  see  at  once  that  they 
may  be  elevated  to  a  much  higher  rank  than  they  now  hold. 

*  It  may  be  asked  why  I  say  nothing  in  regard  to  the  study  of 
Logic  and  Metaphysics,  so  common  in  many  schools  :  I  answer,  in 
the  words  of  Milton,  that  "  I  deem  it  to  be  an  old  error  of  univer- 
sities" (and  it  would  be  a  much  greater  in  schools)  "  not  yet  well 
recovered  from  the  scholastic  grossness  of  barbarous  ages,  that,  in- 
stead of  beginning  with  arts  most  easy,  they  present  their  young 
unmatnculated  novices  at  first  coming  with  the  most  intellective 
abstractions  of  Logic  and  Metaphysics." 


GOVERNMENT.  487 

By  the  introduction  of  improved  methods  of  teaching ;  by 
the  employment  of  qualified  and  devoted  teachers,  espe- 
cially, of  highly  qualified  and  endowed  female  teachers 
for  the  lower  schools  ;  by  a  better  selection  of  studies 
and  the  omission  of  those  which  have  hitherto  occupied 
much  time  to  little  purpose  ;  by  a  greater  interest  on  the 
part  of  the  community,  and  the  consequent  improvement 
of  the  schoolhouses  and  the  apparatus  of  teaching,  all  the 
schools  in  the  state  may  be  made  much  better  than  the  best 
at  present  are.  I  see  no  reason  why  the  public  schools 
should  not  be  better  than  any  private  now  are ;  why  the 
children  of  the  great  body  of  the  people  of  the  state  should 
not  have  as  good  an  education  as  the  most  favoured  have. 
This  may  be  done.  The  schools  may  all  be  improved. 
Step  by  step,  they  may  rise  higher  than  any  one  now 
dreams. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

SECTION   I.     GOVERNMENT. 

"  The  construction  of  a  system  of  education  cannot  be  a  creative, 
but  an  imitative  process,  which  must  be  founded  only  on  the  lessons 
of  experience.  Here,  .as  in  the  cultivation  of  every  other  science, 
it  is  not  by  the  exercise  of  a  sublime  and  speculative  ingenuity  that 
man  arrives  at  truth,  but  it  is  by  letting  himself  down  to  simple  ob- 
servation ; — in  short,  by  following  only  the  lights  of  observation  and 
induction." — SPURZHEIM. 

THE  art  of  governing  a  school  naturally  divides  itself 
into,  1.  The  preservation  of  order ;  2.  The  prevention  of 
wrong ;  3.  Incitement  to  study. 

Towards  the  accomplishment  of  all  these  the  first  requi- 
site is  to  render  your  school  pleasant.  How  is  this  to  be 
done? 


488  THE    SCHOOL 

There  are  some  mistakes  upon  this  point,  which  must  be 
corrected.  The  unpleasantness  of  a  schoolroom  is  some- 
times attributed  to  the  order,  silence,  and  study  which  are 
made  to  prevail  there.  1.  Order  is  not  unpleasant.  The 
orderly  proceeding  of  a  well-regulated  school,  the  quiet  suc- 
cession of  one  thing  to  another  at  its  proper  time,  the  see- 
ing everything  in  its  place,— all  these  are  pleasant.  To 
most  persons,  order  is  pleasant.  2.  Silence  is  not  unpleas- 
ant. On  the  contrary,  as  it  is  beneficial  to  all,  it  is  suit- 
able, and  therefore  pleasant.  3.  Study  is  not  unpleasant. 
When  the  thing  studied  is  understood,  nothing,  is  more 
pleasant.  It  is  the  exercise  of  one  or  more  faculty,  which 
is  the  very  essence  of  happiness.  It  is  unpleasant  only 
when  long  continued  on  one  subject.  It  should  therefore 
be  varied ;  for  little  children,  as  often,  perhaps,  as  every 
half  hour  ;  for  older  ones,  as  often  as  every  hour.  Day  after 
day,  at  the  same  hour,  the  same  study  should  be  resumed, 
but  should  not  be  allowed  to  be  continued  too  long  at  once 
If  so  resumed,  it  becomes  daily  more  easy.  Just  as,  in  any 
manual  operation,  the  fingers  or  the  hands  gradually  get  ac- 
customed to  exercise,  and  perform  it  more  readily  "the  longer 
it  has  been  pursued,  so  does  any  faculty  of  the  mind.  Chil- 
dren are  variously  constituted  in  this  respect ;  some  grow 
weary  much  sooner  than  others.  An  exercise  should  cease 
before  any  one  has  become  weary. 

Restraint,  unnecessary  or  too  long  continued,  becomes 
wearisome.  Every  young  person  is  impatient  of  it ;  the 
law  of  his  whole  nature  requires  action.  The  younger 
the  child,  the  greater  the  impatience  of  restraint  and  con- 
finement. There  must  therefore  be  breaks  and  recesses  ; 
for  very  young  children  as  often  as  once  in  an  hour  ;  for  all, 
as  often  as  once  in  two  or  two  and  a  half  hours. 

Uneasy  positions  are  and  ought  to  be  unpleasant.  Care 
should  therefore  be  taken  that  the  se.ats  be  convenient,  of  a 
proper  height,  and  provided  with  a  back.  An  ill-ventilated 


GOVERNMENT.  489 

room  is  unpleasant.  Take  care  that  yours  be  well  venti- 
lated. Harshness  is  unpleasant ;  scolding,  in  man  or  wom- 
an, is  excessively  unpleasant.  Avoid  both,  and  learn  to 
govern  yourself,  and  to  win  by  kindness  and  by  reason. 
Mere  repetition  of  lessons  is  monotonous ;  break  its  dull- 
ness by  introducing  variety.  Study  the  lesson  of  the  class, 
and  make  it  pleasanter  by  making  it  clearer. 

The  first  work  of  a  teacher,  when  preparing  to  go  into 
school,  is  with  himself.  The  success  of  the  day  and  the 
happiness  of  the  school  depend  in  a  great  degree  upon  the 
temper  he  carries  into  school.  This  is  particularly  impor- 
tant on  the  opening  of  the  school.  Let  him  be  careful  to 
make,  if  possible,  an  agreeable  impression  then.  His  pu- 
pils, full  of  expectation  and  curiosity,  are  watching  every 
motion  and  look,  and  listening  to  every  word,  to  gather 
omens  of  their  future  fortune,  hoping  or  fearing,  as  these 
elements  predominate  in  their  character,  but  almost  sure 
to  like  or  dislike  according  to  the  first  impression.  Let 
the  teacher  take  care  that  their  first  impression  be,  that 
he  is  a  kind  and  generous  person,  who  feels  a  great  interest 
in  their  welfare,  but  one  of  firmness  and  resolution,  who 
will  not  allow  anything  wrong.  Many  years  ago  the  mas- 
tership of  a  public  school  in  a  town  in  New-England  be- 
came vacant  by  the  dismission  of  a  worthless  teacher.  A 
successor  was  appointed  and  introduced  into  his  new  office 
with  some  ceremony,  an  address  from  the  chairman  of  the 
school  committee,  one  from  himself,  and  other  formalities. 
The  boys,  who  had  long  been  accustomed  to  the  loosest  dis- 
cipline, and  many  of  whom  had  learned  to  like  the  state  of 
anarchy  which  had  prevailed,  determined,  as  soon  as  the 
company  and  the  committee  should  retire,  to  try  the  spirit 
of  their  new  master.  Accordingly,  as  the  door  was  shut, 
they  began  to  make  a  noise  with  their  feet,  in  preparation 
for  more  decided  measures.  Mr.  G.,  the  new  master,  who 
had  waited  upon  the  company  to  the  door,  turned  towards 


490  THE    SCHOOL. 

them,  and  in  a  perfectly  kind  manner,  but  with  a  tone  of  au- 
thority which  every  boy  in  the  room  felt  and  understood, 
tapped  slightly  upon  the  floor  and  said,  "  Order,  boys." 
The  effect  was  instantaneous.  Unaffected  kindness  and 
firmness  not  to  be  trifled  with  were  so  clearly  expressed,  that 
every  one  felt  that  the  reign  of  anarchy  had  ceased. 

One  of  a  teacher's  first  duties  is  cheerfulness.  If  he  can 
enter  upon  his  labours  with  cheerful  alacrity,  he  will  do  much 
towards  success.  The  cheerfulness  of  the  master,  like  the 
sun,  fills  everything  with  warmth,  and  he  will  see  it  reflect- 
ed from  every  face.  The  first  word  he  utters,  the  first  look 
he  casts  upon  many  a  child,  gives  the  tone  to  its  feelings  for 
the  day.  What  matter  the  storm  and  the  drift  without,  if  he 
can  meet  the  sunshine  of  a  cheerful  teacher's  face  within  ? 
That  warms  and  makes  pleasant  the  room,  for  it  warms  the 
hearts  of  the  little  company.  Hence,  I  repeat  it,  health, 
the  essential  prerequisite  of  cheerfulness,  is  a  duty,  and  all 
which  is  necessary  -to  secure  it  is  a  law  which  he  must 
obey.  God  loveth  a  cheerful  giver  ;  and  nowhere  is  this 
more  true  than  where  the  gift  is  moral  guidance  and  the 
light  of  intelligence. 

It  is  a  difficult  thing  to  enter  upon  the  scene  of  so  much 
labour,  anxiety,  and  disappointment  as  a  school  often  is, 
with  a  cheerful  temper.  There  are  some  there,  he  thinks, 
who  are  cold  and  indifferent,  who  care  nothing  for  him  or 
any  of  his  plans  for  their  good.  There  may  be  those  whom 
he  knows  to  be  adverse  to  him,  to  hate  him,  and  to  be  seek- 
ing to  thwart  his  plans  and  prevent  his  success.  To  go 
among  such  with  confidence,  and  kindness,  and  cheerful- 
ness ;  to  leave  behind  all  resentment,  all  selfishness,  all 
despondency,  is  very  difficult.  But  so  must  we  overcome 
evil  with  good.  They  are  children.  There  is  something 
at  the  bottom  of  their  hearts  which  will  respond  to  all  our 
kindness.  There  is  something  which  will  take  sides  with 
us  against  whatever  is  wrong  in  themselves.  If  we  go  in 
the  true  spirit  of  our  calling,  we  shall  be  able  to  turn  aver 


GOVERNMENT.  491 

sion  into  favour,  hate  into  love,  and  indifference  into  inter- 
est. And  in  doing  this,  we  not  only  accomplish  our  imme- 
diate ends,  we  work  out  the  higher  good  of  repressing  the 
evil  and  awakening  the  good  tendencies  of  their  character, 
while  we  do  this  in  a  still  greater  degree  for  ourselves. 

Order  should  be  secured  by  the  general  arrangements  of 
the  school.  Children  must  not  be  left  unemployed.  When 
so  left,  they  are  almost  sure  to  fall  into  mischief,  or  what  a 
teacher  calls  such,  to  relieve  themselves  from  the  listless- 
ness  of  idleness.  If  they  cannot  be  employed,  they  should 
be  dismissed,  or  allowed  to  take  a  recess.  Children  are 
often  confined  in  school  after  their  lessons  are  learned  and 
said,  from  a  feeling  that  it  is  a  waste  of  time  to  let  them  go. 
It  should  be  understood  that  it  is  a  much  greater  waste  to 
oblige  them  to  remain  unoccupied.  When  it  can  be  done, 
the  lower  classes  should  be  dismissed  at  an  earlier  hour 
than  the  upper,  that  a  portion  of  time  may  be  given  uninter- 
ruptedly to  the  latter. 

The  following  excellent  observations  are  from  a  teacher* 
who  was  distinguished  for  his  success  in  obtaining  a  moral 
influence  over  his  pupils  : 

"  In  endeavouring  to  correct  the  faults  of  your  pupils,  do 
not,  as  many  teachers  do,  seize  only  upon  those  particular 
cases  of  transgression  which  may  happen  to  come  under 
your  notice.  These  individual  instances  are  very  few, 
probably,  compared  with  the  whole  number  of  faults  against 
which  you  ought  to  exert  an  influence.  And  though  you, 
perhaps,  ought  not  to  neglect  those  which  may  accidentally 
come  under  your  notice,  yet  the  observing  and  punishing 
such  cases  is  a  very  small  part  of  your  duty. 

"  You  accidentally  hear,  I  will  suppose,  as  you  are  walk- 
ing home  from  school,  two  of  your  boys  in  earnest  conver- 
sation, and  one  of  them  uses  profane  language.  Now  the 
course  to  be  pursued  in  such  a  case  is  most  evidently  not 
*  Mr.  Abbott,  the  author  of  "  The  Teacher." 


492  THE    SCHOOL. 

to  call  the  boy  to  you  the  next  day  and  punish  him,  and 
there  let  the  matter  rest.  This  would  perhaps  be  better 
than  nothing.  But  the  chief  impression  which  it  would 
make  upon  the  individual,  and  upon  the  other  scholars, 
would  be,  '  I  must  take  care  how  I  let  the  master  hear  me 
use  such  language  again.'  A  wise  teacher,  who  takes  en- 
larged and  extended  views  of  his  duty  in  regard  to  the 
moral  progress  of  his  pupils,  would  act  very  differently.  He 
would  look  at  the  whole  subject.  '  Does  this  fault,'  he 
would  say  to  himself,  '  prevail  among  my  pupils  ?  If  so, 
how  extensively  T  It  is  comparatively  of  little  consequence 
to  punish  the  particular  transgression.  The  great  point  is 
to  devise  some  plan  to  reach  the  whole  evil,  and  to  correct 
it,  if  possible. 

"  In  one  case,  where  such  a  circumstance  occurred,  the 
teacher  managed  it  most  successfully  in  the  following  way  : 

"  He  said  nothing  to  the  boy,  and,  in  fact,  the  boy  did 
not  know  that  he  swas  overheard.  He  allowed  a  day  or 
two  to  elapse,  so  that  the  conversation  might  be  forgotten, 
and  then  took  an  opportunity,  one  day  after  school,  when 
all  things  had  gone  on  pleasantly,  and  the  school  was  about 
to  be  closed,  to  bring  forward  the  whole  subject.  He  told 
the  boys  that  he  had  something  to  say  to  them,  after  they 
had  laid  by  their  books  and  were  ready  to  go.  The  desks 
were  soon  closed,  and  every  face  in  the  room  was  turned 
towards  the  master  with  a  look  of  fixed  attention.  It  was 
almost  evening.  The  sun  had  gone  down.  The  boys'  la- 
bours were  over.  The  day  was  done,  and  their  minds  were 
at  rest,  and  everything  was  favourable  for  making  a  deep 
and  permanent  impression. 

"  '  A  few  days  ago,'  says  the  teacher,  when  all  was  still, 
'  I  accidentally  overheard  some  conversation  between  two 
of  the  boys  of  this  school,  and  one  of  them  swore.' 

"  There  was  a  pause. 

"  '  Perhaps  you  expect  that  I  am  now  going  to  call  the 
boy  out  and  punish  him.  Is  that  what  I  ought  to  do  ?' 


GOVERNMENT.  493 

"  There  was  no  answer. 

"  '  I  think  a  boy  who  uses  bad  language  of  any  kind  does 
what  he  knows  is  wrong.  He  breaks  God's  commands. 
He  does  what  he  knows  would  be  displeasing  to  his  pa- 
rents, and  he  sets  a  bad  example.  He  does  wrong,  there- 
fore, and  justly  deserves  punishment.' 

"  There  were,  of  course,  many  boys  who  felt  that  they 
were  in  danger.  Every  one  who  had  used  profane  language 
was  aware  that  he  might  be  the  one  who  had  been  over- 
heard, and,  of  course,  all  were  deeply  interested  in  what 
the  teacher  was  saying. 

"  '  He  might,  I  say,'  continues  the  teacher,  '  justly  be 
punished,  but  I  am  not  going  to  punish  him ;  for,  if  I  should, 
I  am  afraid  that  it  would  only  make  him  a  little  more  care- 
ful hereafter  not  to  commit  this  sin  when  I  could  possibly 
be  within  hearing,  instead  of  persuading  him,  as  I  wish  to, 
to  avoid  such  a  sin  in  future  altogether.  I  am  satisfied  that 
that  boy  would  be  far  happier,  even  in  this  world,  if  he 
would  make  it  a  principle  always  to  do  his  duty,  and  never, 
in  any  case,  to  do  wrong.  And  then,  when  I  think  how 
soon  he  and  all  of  us  will  be  in  another  world,  where  we 
shall  all  be  judged  for  what  we  do  here,  I  feel  strongly  de- 
sirous of  persuading  him  to  abandon  entirely  this  practice 
I  am  afraid  that  punishing  him  now  would  not  do  that. 

"  '  Besides,'  continues  the  teacher, '  I  think  it  very  prob- 
able that  there  are  many  other  boys  in  this  school  who  are 
sometimes  guilty  of  this  fault,  and  I  have  thought  that  it 
would  be  a  great  deal  better  and  happier  for  us  all,  if,  in- 
stead of  punishing  this  particular  boy,  whom  I  have  acci- 
dentally overheard,  and  who,  probably,  is  not  more  to  blame 
than  many  other  boys  in  school,  I  should  bring  up  the  whole 
subject,  and  endeavour  to  persuade  all  to  reform.' 

"  I  am  aware  that  there  are,  unfortunately,  in  our  country 
a  great  many  teachers  from  whose  lips  such  an  appeal  as 
this  would  be  wholly  in  vain.     The  man  who  is  accustom- 
TT 


494  THE    SCHOOL. 

ed  to  scold,  and  storm,  and  punish,  with  unsparing  severity, 
every  transgression,  under  the  influence  of  irritation  and 
anger,  must  not  expect  that  he  can  win  over  his  pupils  to 
confidence  in  him,  and  to  the  principles  of  duty,  by  a  word. 
But  such  an  appeal  will  not  be  lost  when  it  comes  from  a 
man  whose  daily  and  habitual  management  corresponds 
with  it.  But  to  return  to  the  story. 

"  The  teacher  made  some  farther  remarks,  explaining  the 
nature  of  the  sin,  not  in  the  language  of  execration  and  af- 
fected abhorrence,  but  calmly,  temperately,  and  without 
any  disposition  to  make  the  worst  of  the  occurrence  which 
had  taken  place.  In  concluding  what  he  said,  he  address- 
ed the  boys  as  follows  : 

"  '  Now,  boys,  the  question  is,  do  you  wish  to  abandon 
this  habit,  or  not  ?  if  you  do,  all  is  well.  I  shall  immedi- 
ately forget  all  the  past,  and  will  do  all  I  can  to  help  you 
resist  and  overcome  temptation  in  future.  But  all  I  can  do 
is  only  to  help  you  ;  and  the  first  thing  to  be  done,  if  you 
wish  to  engage  in  this  work  of  reform,  is  to  acknowledge 
your  fault ;  and  I  should  like  to  know  how  many  are  will- 
ing to  do  this. 

"  '  I  wish  all  those  who  are  willing  to  tell  me  whether 
they  use  profane  language,  would  rise.' 

"  Every  individual  but  one  rose. 

" '  I  am  very  glad  to  see  so  large  a  number,'  said  the 
teacher  ;  '  and  I  hope  you  will  find  that  the  work  of  con- 
fessing and  forsaking  your  faults  is,  on  the  whole,  pleas- 
ant, not  painful  business.  Now,  those  who  can  truly  and 
honestly  say  that  they  never  do  use  profane  language  of 
any  kind  may  take  their  seats.' 

"  Three  only  of  the  whole  number,  which  consisted  of 
not  far  from  20,  sat  down.  It  was  in  a  seaport  town, 
where  the  temptation  to  yield  to  this  vice  is  even  greater 
than  would  be,  in  the  interior  of  our  country,  supposed  pos- 
sible. 


GOVERNMENT.  495 

" '  Those  who  are  now  standing,'  pursued  the  teacher, 
*  admit  that  they  do,  sometimes  at  least,  commit  this  sin 
I  suppose  all,  however,  are  determined  to  reform  ;  for  I  do 
not  know  what  else  should  induce  you  to  rise  and  acknowl 
edge  it  here,  unless  it  is  a  desire  hereafter  to  break  your- 
selves of  the  habit.  But  do  you  suppose  that  it  will  be 
enough  for  you  merely  to  resolve  here  that  you  will  re- 
form ?' 

"  '  No,  sir,'  said  the  boys. 

«  i  Why  1  If  you  now  sincerely  determine  never  more  to 
use  a  profane  word,  will  you  not  easily  avoid  it  ?' 

"  The  boys  were  silent.     Some  said  faintly,  '  No,  sir.' 

"  '  It  will  not  be  easy  for  you  to  avoid  the  sin  hereafter,' 
continued  the  teacher,  '  even  if  you  do  now  sincerely  and 
resolutely  determine  to  do  so.  You  have  formed  the  habit 
of  sin,  and  the  habit  will  not  be  easily  overcome.  But  I 
have  detained  you  long  enough  now.  I  will  try  to  devise 
some  method  by  which  you  may  carry  your  plan  into  effect, 
and  to-morrow  I  will  tell  you  what  it  is.' 

"  So  they  were  dismissed  for  the  day ;  the  pleasant 
countenance  and  cheerful  tone  of  the  teacher  conveying  to 
them  the  impression  that  they  were  engaging  in  the  com- 
mon effort  to  accomplish  a  most  desirable  purpose,  in  which 
they  were  to  receive  the  teacher's  help  ;  not  that  he  was 
pursuing  them,  with  threatening  and  punishment,  into  the 
forbidden  practices  into  which  they  had  wickedly  strayed 
Great  caution  is,  however,  in  such  a  case,  necessary  to 
guard  against  the  danger,  that  the  teacher,  in  attempting  to 
avoid  the  tones  of  irritation  and  anger,  should  so  speak  of 
the  sin  as  to  blunt  their  sense  of  its  guilt,  and  lull  their 
consciences  into  a  slumber. 

"  At  the  appointed  time  on  the  following  day,  the  subject 
was  again  brought  before  the  school,  and  some  plans  pro- 
posed, by  which  the  resolutions  now  formed  might  be 
more  certainly  kept.  These  plans  were  readily  and  cheer- 


496  THE    SCHOOL. 

fully  adopted  by  the  boys,  and  in  a  short  time  the  vice  of 
profaneness  was,  in  a  great  degree,  banished  from  the 
school.  This  whole  account  is  substantially  fact. 

"  I  hope  the  reader  will  keep  in  mind  the  object  of  the 
above  illustration,  which  is  to  show  that  it  is  the  true  poli- 
cy of  the  teacher  not  to  waste  his  time  and  strength  in 
contending  against  such  accidental  instances  of  transgres- 
sion as  may  chance  to  fall  under  his  notice,  but  to  take  an 
enlarged  and  extended  view  of  the  whole  ground,  endeav- 
ouring to  remove  whole  classes  of  faults, — to  elevate  and 
improve  multitudes  together. 

"  By  these  means,  his  labours  will  not  only  be  more  ef- 
fectual, but  far  more  pleasant.  You  cannot  come  into  col- 
lision with  an  individual  scholar,  to  punish  him  for  a  mis- 
chievous spirit,  or  even  to  rebuke  him  for  some  single  act 
by  which  he  has  given  you  trouble,  without  an  uncomforta- 
ble and  uneasy  feeling,  which  makes,  in  ordinary  cases, 
the  discipline  of  a  school  the  most  unpleasant  part  of  a 
teacher's  duty.  But  you  can  plan  a  campaign  against  a 
whole  class  of  faults,  and  put  into  operation  a  system  of 
measures  to  correct  them,  and  watch  from  day  to  day  the 
operation  of  that  system,  with  all  the  spirit  and  interest  of 
a  game.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  game  where  your  ingenuity  and 
moral  power  are  brought  into  the  field,  in  opposition  to  the 
evil  tendencies  of  the  hearts  which  are  under  your  influence. 

"  Remember,  then,  as,  for  the  first  time,  you  take  your  new 
station,  that  it  is  not  your  duty  simply  to  watch  with  an 
eagle  eye  for  those  accidental  instances  of  trangression 
which  may  chance  to  fall  under  your  notice.  You  are  to 
look  over  the  whole  ground.  You  are  to  make  yourself  ac- 
quainted, as  soon  as  possible,  with  the  classes  of  character 
and  classes  of  faults  which  may  prevail  in  your  dominions, 
and  to  form  deliberate  and  well-digested  plans  for  impro- 
ving the  one  and  correcting  the  other. 

"  And  this  is  to  be  the  course  pursued,  not  only  with 


GOVERNMENT.  497 

great  delinquencies,  such  as  those  to  which  I  have  already 
alluded,  but  to  every  little  transgression  against  the  rules 
of  order  and  propriety.  You  can  correct  them  far  more 
easily  and  pleasantly  in  the  mass  than  in  detail. 

"  You  avoid,  by  this  means,  a  vast  amount  of  irritation 
and  impatience,  both  on  your  own  part  and  on  the  part  of 
your  scholars,  and  you  produce  at  least  twenty  times  the 
usual  effect." 

"  Everything  which  is  unpleasant  in  the  discipline  of  the 
school  should  be  attended  to,  as  far  as  possible,  privately. 
Sometimes  it  is  necessary  to  bring  a  case  forward  in  public 
for  reproof  or  punishment,  but  this  is  seldom.  In  some 
schools  it  is  the  custom  to  postpone  cases  of  discipline  till 
the  close  of  the  day,  and  then,  just  before  the  boys  are  dis- 
missed at  night,  all  the  difficulties  are  settled.  Thus,  day 
after  day,  the  impression  which  is  last  made  upon  their 
minds  is  received  from  a  season  of  suffering,  and  terror,  and 
tears. 

"  Now  such  a  practice  may  be  attended  with  many  ad- 
vantages, but  it  seems  to  be,  on  the  whole,  unwise.  Awing 
the  pupils  by  showing  them  the  consequences  of  doing 
wrong  should  be  very  seldom  resorted  to.  It  is  far  better 
to  allure  them  by  showing  them  the  pleasures  of  doing  right. 
Doing  right  is  pleasant  to  everybody,  and  no  persons  are  so 
easily  convinced  of  this,  or,  rather,  so  easily  led  to  see  it,  as 
children.  Now  the  true  policy  is,  to  let  them  experience 
the  pleasure  of  doing  their  duty,  and  they  will  easily  be  al- 
lured to  it. 

"  I  am  next  to  consider  what  course  is  to  be  taken  with 
individual  offenders,  whom  the  general  influences  of  the 
schoolroom  will  not  control. 

"  The  first  point  to  be  attended  to  is  to  ascertain  who 
they  are.  Not  by  appearing  suspiciously  to  watch  any  in- 
dividuals, for  this  would  be  almost  sufficient  to  make  them 
bad,  if  they  were  not  so  before.  Observe,  however;  no- 
T  t9 


498  THE    SCHOOL. 

tice,  from  day  to  day,  the  conduct  of  individuals,  not  for  the 
purpose  of  reproving  or  punishing  their  faults,  but  to  enable 
you  to  understand  their  characters.  This  work  will  often 
require  great  adroitness  and  very  close  scrutiny ;  and  you 
will  find,  as  the  results  of  it,  a  considerable  variety  of  char- 
acter, which  the  general  influences  above  described  will 
not  be  sufficient  to  control.  The  number  of  individuals  will 
not  be  great,  but  the  diversity  of  character  comprised  in  it 
will  be  such  as  to  call  into  exercise  all  your  powers  of  vigi- 
lance and  discrimination. 

"  Now  all  these  characters  must  be  studied.  It  is  true 
that  the  caution  given  in  a  preceding  part  of  this  chapter, 
against  devoting  undue  and  disproportionate  attention  to 
such  persons,  must  not  be  forgotten.  Still,  these  individuals 
will  require,  and  it  is  right  that  they  should  receive,  a  far 
greater  degree  of  attention,  so  far  as  the  moral  administra- 
tion of  the  school  is  concerned,  than  their  mere  numbers 
would  appear  to  justify.  This  is  the  field  in  which  the 
teacher  is  to  study  human  nature,  for  here  it  shows  itself 
without  disguise.  It  is  through  this  class,  too,  that  a  very 
powerful  moral  influence  is  to  be  exerted  upon  the  rest  of 
the  school.  The  manner  in  which  such  individuals  are 
managed ;  the  tone  the  teacher  assumes  towards  them ; 
the  gentleness  with  which  he  speaks  of  their  faults ; 
and  the  unbending  decision  with  which  he  restrains  them 
from  wrong,  will  have  a  most  powerful  effect  upon  the  rest 
of  the  school.  That  he  may  occupy  this  field,  therefore,  to 
the  best  advantage,  it  is  necessary  that  he  should  first  thor- 
oughly explore  it. 

"  Every  boy  has  something  or  other  which  is  good  in 
his  disposition  and  character,  which  he  is  aware  of,  and  on 
which  he  prides  himself;  find  out  what  it  is,  for  it  may 
often  be  made  the  foundation  on  which  you  may  build 
the  superstructure  of  reform.  Every  one  has  his  peculiar 
sources  of  enjoyment,  and  objects  of  pursuit  which  are  be- 


GOVERNMENT.  499 

fore  his  mind  from  day  to  day ;  find  out  what  they  are, 
that  by  taking  an  interest  in  what  interests  him,  and  per- 
haps sometimes  assisting  him  in  his  plans,  you  can  bind  him 
to  you.  Every  boy  is,  from  the  circumstances  in  which 
he  is  placed  at  home,  exposed  to  temptations,  which  have, 
perhaps,  had  a  far  greater  influence  in  the  formation  of  his 
character,  than  any  deliberate  and  intentional  depravity  of 
his  own.  Ascertain  what  these  temptations  are,  that  you 
may  know  where  to  pity  him  and  where  to  blame.  The 
knowledge  which  such  an  examination  of  character  will 
give  you  will  not  be  confined  to  making  you  acquainted  with 
the  individual.  It  will  be  the  most  valuable  knowledge 
which  a  man  can  possess,  both  to  assist  him  in  the  general 
administration  of  the  school,  and  in  his  intercourse  among 
mankind  in  the  business  of  life.  Men  are  but  boys,  only 
with  somewhat  loftier  objects  of  pursuit.  Their  principles, 
motives,  and  ruling  passions  are  essentially  the  same.  Ex- 
tended commercial  speculations  are,  so  far  as  the  human 
heart  is  concerned,  substantially  what  trading  in  jack- 
knives  and  toys  is  at  school,  and  building  a  snow  fort,  to  its 
own  architects,  the  same  as  erecting  a  monument  of  marble. 

"  After  exploring  the  ground,  the  first  thing  to  be  done,  as 
a  preparation  for  reforming  individual  character  in  school, 
is  to  secure  the  personal  attachment  of  the  individuals  to  be 
reformed.  This  must  not  be  attempted  by  professions  and 
affected  smiles,  and  still  less  by  that  sort  of  obsequiousness 
common  in  such  cases,  which  produces  no  effect  but  to 
make  the  bad  boy  suppose  that  his  teacher  is  afraid  of  him  ; 
which,  by-the-way,  is,  in  fact,  in  such  cases,  usually  true. 

"  A  most  effectual  way  to  secure  the  good  will  of  a  schol- 
ar is  to  ask  him  to  assist  you.  The  Creator  has  so  formed 
the  human  heart,  that  doing  good  must  be  a  source  of  pleas- 
ure, and  he  who  tastes  this  pleasure  once  will  almost  al- 
ways wish  to  taste  it  again.  To  do  good  to  any  individual 
creates  or  increases  the  desire  to  do  it." 


500  THE    SCHOOL. 

"  The  teacher  can  awaken  in  the  hearts  of  his  pupils  a 
personal  attachment  for  him,  by  asking,  in  various  ways, 
their  assistance  in  school,  and  then  appearing  honestly 
gratified  with  the  assistance  rendered.  Boys  and  girls  are 
delighted  to  have  what  powers  and  attainments  they  pos- 
sess brought  out  into  action,  especially  where  they  can  lead 
to  useful  results.  They  love  to  be  of  some  consequence  in 
the  world,  and  will  be  especially  gratified  to  be  able  to  as- 
sist their  teacher.  Get  a  turbulent  boy  to  co-operate  with 
you  in  anything,  and  he  will  feel  how  much  pleasanter  it  is 
to  co-operate  than  to  thwart  and  oppose ;  and  by  judicious 
measures  of  this  kind  almost  any  boy  may  be  brought  over 
to  your  side. 

"  Another  means  of  securing  the  personal  attachment  of 
boys  is  to  notice  them  ;  to  take  an  interest  in  their  pursuits, 
and  the  qualities  and  powers  which  they  value  in  one  an- 
other. It  is  astonishing  what  an  influence  is  exerted  by 
such  little  circumstances  as  stopping  at  a  pi  ay -ground  a 
moment,  to  notice  with  interest,  though  perhaps  without 
saying  a  word,  speed  of  running  or  exactness  of  aim  ;  the 
force  with  which  a  ball  is  struck,  or  the  dexterity  with 
which  it  is  caught  or  thrown. 

"  Whenever  a  boy  has  been  guilty  of  an  offence  the  best 
way  is  to  go  directly  and  frankly  to  the  individual,  and  come 
at  once  to  a  full  understanding.  In  nine  cases  out  of  ten 
this  course  will  be  effectual.  For  four  years,  and  with  a 
very  large  school,  I  have  found  this  sufficient,  in  every  case 
of  discipline  which  has  occurred,  except  in  three  or  four 
instances,  where  something  more  was  required.  To  make 
it  successful,  however,  it  must  be  done  properly.  Several 
things  are  necessary.  It  must  be  deliberate  ;  generally  bet- 
ter after  a  little  delay.  It  must  be  indulgent,  so  far  as  the 
view  which  the  teacher  takes  of  the  guilt  of  the  pupil  is 
concerned ;  every  palliating  consideration  must  be  felt.  It 
must  be  firm  and  decided  in  regard  to  the  necessity  of  a 


GOVERNMENT.  501 

change,  and  the  determination  of  the  teacher  to  effect  it.  It 
must  also  be  open  and  frank ;  no  insinuations,  no  hints,  no 
surmises,  but  plain,  honest,  open  dealing. 

"  In  many  cases,  the  communication  may  be  made  most 
delicately,  and  most  successfully,  in  writing.  The  more 
delicately  you  touch  -the  feelings  of  your  pupils,  the  more 
tender  these  feelings  will  become.  Many  a  teacher  hard- 
ens and  stupifies  the  moral  sense  of  his  pupils,  by  the  harsh 
and  rough  exposures  to  which  he  drags  out  the  private  feel- 
ings of  the  heart.  A  man  may  easily  produce  such  a  state 
of  feeling  in  his  schoolroom,  that  to  address  even4  the  gen- 
tlest reproof  to  any  individual,  in  the  hearing  of  the  next, 
would  be  a  most  severe  punishment ;  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
he  may  so  destroy  that  sensitiveness,  that  his  vociferated 
reproaches  will  be  as  unheeded  as  the  idle  wind." 

The  teacher  should  be  particularly  cautioned  against  par- 
tiality. He  must  be,  as  nearly  as  possible,  just  in  his  treat- 
ment of  all.  The  older  scholars  must  not  be  indulged  in 
doing  what  would  not  be  allowed  to  the  younger,  nor  the 
reverse.  There  should  be  no  favouritism.  These  things 
are  not  merely  bad  in  themselves ;  they  destroy  the  whole 
moral  influence  of  the  teacher. 

There  are  two  almost  opposite  courses  which  may  be 
pursued  for  the  maintenance  of  the  daily  order  of  school. 
One  is,  to  have  perfect  order  and  absolute  silence,  except 
at  stated  periods,  when  whispering  or  leaving  seats  is  al- 
lowed ;  the  other  is,  to  allow  a  certain  liberty,  to  fix  limits 
beyond  which  it  is  not  permitted  to  pass,  but  within  which 
whispering  and  other  intercourse  are,  to  a  certain  extent,  al- 
lowed, and  to  rely  upon  the  power  of  self-restraint  in  the 
pupils  to  keep  them  within  those  limits.  The  former  is 
easy,  and  an  economy  of  time  ;  the  latter  is  difficult,  and 
costs  time,  but  is  more  pleasant  to  pupils  and  to  teacher. 
In  the  former  case,  the  teacher  must  be  always  on  the 
watch,  and  nothing  must  be  suffered  to  escape  his  eye,  and 


502  THE    SCHOOL. 

no  offence  its  penalty.  This  seems  best  for  a  large  school, 
where  numbers  are  to  be  dealt  with  on  general  principles. 
The  other  may  be  pursued  in  a  small  or  select  school,  and 
where  a  high  moral  tone  has  been  made  to  prevail.  It  ren- 
ders school  a  better  preparation  for  the  trials  of  life,  but  it 
supposes  a  considerable  advancement  already  to  have  been 
made. 

Is  corporal  punishment  allowable  and  necessary  ?  Some- 
times, certainly.  Order  must  exist.  Obedience  must  be  giv- 
en. If  the  higher  motives  fail,  recourse  must  be  had  to  the 
lower ;  and  if  they  fail,  to  this,  the  lowest  of  all.  But  the 
child  on  whom  it  is  to  be  inflicted  must  be  in  a  wretchedly 
low  state  ;  and  the  teacher  who  habitually  has  recourse 
to  it,  must  be  considered  as  not  well  understanding  the 
principles  or  the  duties  of  his  calling. 

SECTION   II.     OF    THE    MOTIVES    TO    BE    APPEALED    TO  IN    GOVERNMENT. 

"  Every  bias,  instinct,  propension  within,  is  a  real  part  of  our  na- 
ture, but  not  the  whole  ;  add  to  these  the  superior  faculty,  whose 
office  it  is  to  adjust,  manage,  and  preside  over  them,  and  take  in  this 
its  natural  superiority,  and  you  complete  the  idea  of  human  nature. 
And  as  in  civil  government  the  constitution  is  broken  in  upon  and 
violated  by  power  and  strength  prevailing  over  authority,  so  the 
constitution  of  man  is  broken  in  upon  and  violated  by  the  lower  fac- 
ulties or  principles  within  prevailing  over  that  which  is,  in  its  na- 
ture, supreme  over  them  all." — BUTLER. 

THE  remaining  object  of  discipline  is  to  stimulate  chil- 
dren to  exertion  in  their  studies,  as  well  as  to  secure  their 
good  behaviour.  The  motives  which  are  most  frequently 
addressed,  both  in  families  and  schools,  are,  1 .  fear  of  pain, 
2.  fear  of  shame,  and,  3.  emulation,  by  which  I  mean  the  spirit 
of  rivalry — the  desire  of  outstripping  others.* 

The  first  to  be  considered  is  the  fear  of  pain.  This  is 
not  to  be  condemned  altogether.  The  teacher  ought  al- 

*  Most  of  the  views  contained  in  this  section  have  been  laid 
before  the  public,  in  the  Common  School  Journal. 


MOTIVES.  503 

ways  to  have  the  power,  in  case  of  absolute  need,  of  inflict- 
ing  corporal  punishment.  But  the  mere  possession  of  the 
power  is  all  that  would  be  required.  A  boy  who  knew 
that  the  teacher  had  this  power,  and  would  use  it,  if  obliged 
to  do  so,  would  be  unwilling  to  drive  him  to  the  necessity. 
The  great  objection  to  corporal  punishment  is  the  fact  that 
it  excites  angry  passions,  not  only  in  the  child,  but  in  the 
master,  and  much  more  in  the  latter  than  the  former.  I 
very  distinctly  remember  that  corporal  punishment,  when 
inflicted  in  a  school  where  I  was  a  pupil,  rarely  excited  a 
permanent  ill-feeling  in  the  pupil,  because  it  was  felt  to  be 
just.  Certain  laws  had  this  penalty  annexed  to  their  in- 
fraction ;  and,  as  the  master  was  really  a  kind  and  just  man, 
there  was  no  feeling  of  rebellion  against  a  consequence 
which  the  offender  brought  on  himself.  In  another  instance 
which  recurs  to  my  mind,  the  only  effect  of  a  severe  pun- 
ishment of  this  kind,  for  neglecting  a  lesson,  was  a  deter- 
mination never  again  to  deserve  it.  But  my  own  experience 
teaches  me  that  the  effect  is  almost  necessarily  bad  on  the 
individual  who  inflicts  the  pain.  It  excites  a  horrible  feel- 
ing in  him, — a  feeling  which  we  might  conceive  to  belong 
to  evil  spirits.  But  fear  of  pain  does  not  necessarily  per- 
vert the  character  of  the  child. 

Not  so  with  the  fear  of  shame.  I  believe  its  effects  to 
be  altogether  bad.  And  the  essence  of  its  badness  is,  that 
it  can  be  brought  to  bear  upon  what  is  excellent  as  readily 
as  upon  what  is  evil.  Indeed,  what  is  noble,  and  high- 
minded,  and  pure,  can  more  easily  be  turned  to  ridicule 
than  the  contrary.  Cruelty,  hardness  of  heart,  selfishness, 
the  meanest  of  vices,  can  with  difficulty  be  exposed  to  rid- 
icule ;  while  compassion,  tender-heartedness,  generosity, 
are  particularly  obnoxious  to  it. 

Most  children  are,  by  nature,  too  susceptible  of  ridi- 
cule. How  common  it  is  to  see  children  ashamed  of  pov- 
erty, or  any  appearance  of  poverty,  or  of  any  natural  defect 


504  THE    SCHOOL. 

or  peculiarity,  and  not  ashamed  of  gluttony,  or  profaneness, 
or  malice ! 

Children  of  delicate  temperament,  great  generosity,  and 
warmth  of  imagination, — those  of  the  very  character  that 
needs  not  the  influence  of  a  severe  punishment,  would  be 
made  to  suffer  terribly  from  the  fear  of  shame  ;  while  those 
of  obtuse  temperament,  cowardly,  and  mean,  and  wanting 
in  imagination,  would  suffer  very  little. 

Besides,  from  whatever  cause,  our  countrymen  are  most 
inordinately  susceptible  to  the  influence  of  ridicule  already. 
Is  not  the  great  want  of  independence,  which  every  observ- 
er must  notice,  owing  to  this  ?  Are  we  not,  in  the  highest 
and  most  absurd  degree,  sensitive  to  other  people's  opin- 
ions ?  And,  if  we  are  so,  would  it  not  be  unphilosophical 
and  wanting  in  patriotism  to  increase  this  national  infirmi- 
ty, by  rendering  individuals  more  sensitive  by  addressing 
the  fear  of  shame  ? 

The  great  objection  to  it,  however,  is  what  I  have  stated, 
that  it  operates  with  terrible  inequality  and  injustice ;  giv- 
ing great  pain  to  the  fine  characters  that  ought  to  be  dealt 
delicately  with,  and  not  touching  those  who  are,  if  possible, 
to  be  taken  hold  of  by  influences  of  all  kinds. 

The  same  objection  lies  against  emulation.  It  operates 
with  great  force  upon  noble  natures  that  need  no  excite- 
ment, and  passes  over  those  dull  ones  whom  it  should  be  the 
business  of  discipline  to  move. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  it  is  a  most  powerful  motive, 
perhaps  the  most  powerful  that  can  be  put  in  action.  To  be 
at  the  head  of  a  class  can  never  be  an  object  of  indifference 
to  a  child  of  talent,  if  that  is  held  out  as  the  greatest  good. 
Still  less,  to  be  atrthe  head  of  a  school.  To  gain  a  med- 
al, when  only  one  or  a  very  few  are  given,  and  where 
the  number  of  competitors  is  great,  may  be  made  to  as- 
sume, to  the  eye  of  a  child,  an  importance  greater  than 
any  other  object  for  which  he  can  live.  But  it  sacrifices 


MOTIVES.  505 

the  higher  powers  to  the  lower, — the  moral  to  the  intellectu- 
al. The  object  of  the  teacher  ought  not  to  be  to  make  as 
good  scholars  as  possible  by  any  means  whatsoever,  but 
to  elevate  the  being  as  highly  as  possible.  If  the  scholar  is 
made  at  the  expense  of  the  man,  an  incalculable  injury  is 
inflicted.  The  teacher  capable  of  sacrificing  the  moral 
character  of  his  pupil  to  his  appearance  at  an  exhibition  or 
his  triumph  at  an  annual  examination,  is  totally  unworthy 
of  his  office. 

Emulation,  when  exercised  among  companions  and  equals, 
almost  necessarily  excites  the  worst  passions,  envy,  jeal- 
ousy, hatred,  malice.  I  say  almost,  because  I  believe  that 
there  are  a  few  so  noble  in  their  nature,  so  raised  above 
all  selfishness,  that  they  are  able  to  see  the  prize  for  which 
they  have  been  long  striving,  with  all  possible  efforts,  borne 
away  by  a  rival,  with  no  other  feelings  than  gratification  at 
his  success,  and  resignation  to  their  own  disappointment. 
But  these  are  very  few.  I  might,  therefore,  without  depart- 
ing from  the  truth,  leave  out  the  qualifying  expression,  and 
say,  that  emulation,  as  it  usually  operates,  excites  the  worst 
passions  of  the  human  Jieart. 

As  to  the  effect  produced  on  the  character  by  emulation, 
an  obvious  and  important  question  to  be  asked  is,  whether 
the  habits  formed  by  it  are  most  likely  to  lead  to  the  regular, 
quiet,  and  conscientious  discharge  of  the  daily  duties  of  life. 
Many  of  those  who  have  at  school  been  stimulated  to  great 
efforts  by  it,  lay  aside  their  books  and  their  habits  of  study 
when  they  leave  school.  If  it  thus  fails  to  produce  perma- 
nent effects  in  the  things  about  which  it  has  been  employ- 
ed, is  it  likely  to  produce  a  healthy  effect  upon  the  whole 
character  ?  Would  a  woman,  whose  character  had  been 
formed  under  the  influence  of  this  motive,  be  more  likely 
than  another  to  endeavour  to  form  in  her  children  simplici- 
ty of  character,  humility,  the  charity  which  docs  good  for 
the  sake  of  its  object,  the  love  of  truth  for  its  own  sake,  the 
Uu 


506  THE    SCHOOL. 

principle  of  doing  right  because  it  is  right  ?  Would  the  de- 
sire of  distinction,  and  of  surpassing  others,  be  most  likely 
to  suggest  her  highest  duties  as  a  wife  1  Will  it  best  fit  her 
for  her  duties  to  herself  and  her  Maker  ?  If  they  had  any 
effect,  would  they  not  tend  to  lead  her  astray  ?  And  can 
those  motives  which  are  obviously  wrong  for  children  of 
one  sex,  be  the  best  possible  for  those  of  the  other  ?  If 
these  doubts  are  not  wholly  unfounded,  what  an  infinite 
amount  of  unnecessary  evil  must  be  created  by  emulation  ! 
To  say  nothing  of  the  envy  and  hatred  it  often  engenders, 
cankering  instead  of  purifying  the  heart  of  infancy  and 
childhood, — to  what  cause  more  than  this,  acting  so  gener- 
ally in  schools,  and  even  in  families,  can  be  attributed  the 
insane  desire,  so  prevailing  among  us,  of  outstripping  each 
other  in  wealth,  in  houses,  in  dress,  in  everything  which 
admits  of  external  comparison  ?  To  what  else,  in  an  equal 
degree,  can  we  attribute  the  notorious  profligacy  of  so  many 
political  leaders  ?  The  desire  of  excelling  has  been,  from 
childhood,  so  fostered,  that  it  has  become  an  irrepressible 
passion,  rushing  to  its  end,  regardless  of  all  principle  and 
of  all  consequences. 

It  doubtless  does  good  as  well  as  harm.  But  the  ques- 
tion is,  whether  we  cannot  secure  the  good  from  the  action 
of  higher  motives,  while  we  avoid  the  evil.  The  best  men 
have  been  above  its  influence.  Emulation  may  have  form- 
ed such  men  as  Caesar  and  Napoleon.  How  little  could  it 
have  done  to  form  Washington !  The  noblest  deeds  and 
the  highest  works,  those  which  have  advanced  society  in 
civilization  and  truth,  have  been  produced  under  the  influ- 
ence of  entirely  different  and  higher  motives. 

Of  whom  was  Galileo  emulous,  when,  having  gone  be- 
yond what  was  already  known,  he  stretched  out,  by  the 
help  of  experiment  and  geometry,  into  the  vast  unexplored 
ocean  of  mechanical  and  astronomical  truth  ?  Of  whom 
Kepler  emulous,  when,  from  the  collected  observations 


MOTIVES,  507 

of  many  years,  he  deduced  those  famous  laws  which  he 
did  not  expect  the  minds  of  his  own  age  even  to  compre- 
hend, but  which  were  to  serve  as  a  foundation  for  the  sys- 
tem of  the  universe  ?  What  rivalry  stimulated  Newton, 
when,  in  the  seclusion  of  his  own  study,  he  established 
those  immortal  principles  of  philosophy,  which  his  friends 
could  with  difficulty  persuade  him  to  give  to  the  world? 
What  emulation  taught  Archimedes  mechanics,  or  Pascal 
geometry,  or  Shakspeare  poetry  ?  What  rivalry  set  George 
Fox  or  John  Wesley  to  preach  ?  or  launched  the  Santa 
Maria  or  the  Mayflower  upon  the  waves  of  the  Atlantic  ? 

It  must  be  admitted  that  we  cannot  entirely  exclude  the 
action  of  emulation.  Children  can  hardly  be  assembled 
for  any  purpose  without  its  showing  itself.  But  nothing 
need  be  done  to  strengthen  it.  It  is  already  a  sufficiently 
powerful  element  in  the  character  of  every  child  ;  and  the 
excessive  prominence  which  is  given  to  it  by  its  being 
constantly  addressed,  destroys  the  balance  of  the  powers, 
and  sacrifices  the  moral  being  to  the  intellectual. 

What  other  motives  can  be  made  to  take  the  place  of  the 
powerful  ones  of  which  I  have  spoken  ? 

I.  The  love  of  the  approbation  of  friends  and  teachers. 

The  love  of  approbation  is,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  nat- 
ural to  every  individual,  and  must  have  been  implanted  for 
some  good  purpose.  It  soon  shows  itself  in  the  child,  and, 
for  several  of  the  earliest  years,  affords  the  parent  one  of 
the  most  powerful  means  of  control  and  influence.  If  ap- 
pealed to  constantly  and  simply,  it  may  be  made  a  genial 
and  healthy  element  of  the  character.  It  is,  however,  often 
perverted  by  being  associated  with  inferior  motives.  In 
stead  of  being  satisfied  with  showing  that,  if  their  children 
do  well,  they  will  be  rewarded  with  their  love  and  appro- 
bation, parents  too  often  bring  in  the  meaner  motives  of 
appetite  for  delicacies,  pecuniary  rewards,  or  the  desire  of 
surpassing  each  other.  A  child  may  be  made  to  feel  that, 


508  THE    SCHOOL. 

by  improper  conduct,  he  will  forfeit  his  parents'  approba- 
tion, and,  if  he  has  been  properly  trained,  he  will  feel  this 
to  be  one  of  the  greatest  losses  possible. 

I  suppose  that  all  parents  begin,  instinctively,  by  ap- 
pealing to  this  motive.  The  mischief  is,  that  they  too  often 
degrade  it  by  mean  associations,  and  pervert  it  by  giving  it 
a  wrong  direction.  '  What  will  people  think  ?'  is  the  com- 
mon expression  of  parents  without  principle,  and  is  some- 
times thoughtlessly  uttered  even  by  those  who  would 
shrink  from  believing  that  they  were  themselves  acting 
from  a  regard  to  the  opinion  of  the  world,  and  would  justly 
condemn  themselves  for  inculcating  such  a  principle  on 
their  children.  The  love  of  indiscriminate  approbation, — 
that  of  the  bad,  the  worthless,  the  frivolous,  equally  with 
that  of  the  intelligent  and  the  just, — would  be  as  likely  to 
have  an  ill  effect  on  the  character  as  a  good,  to  form  a 
mere  creature  of  the  world  as  to  form  a  person  of  high 
views  and  noble  principles.  It  is  obvious,  therefore,  that 
the  good  influence  of  this  motive  depends  on  its  associa- 
tions. It  is  perfectly  safe  only  when  it  has  reference  to 
those  who  bestow  approbation  on  what  deserves  it,  and  who 
are  capable  of  judging. 

In  school,  the  love  of  approbation  should  be  directed, 
first,  to  the  parent  at  home  ;  next,  to  the  teacher  ;  lastly 
and  least,  to  the  standard  of  action  and  opinion  pervading 
the  little  community.  In  order  that  it  may  be  directed  to 
the  parent,  the  teacher  must  either  have  constant  inter- 
course with  him,  or  he  must  statedly  send  him  some  report 
of  the  child's  progress  and  deportment.  The  latter,  where 
practicable,  is  the  better  course,  since,  when  the  reports 
are  made  on  just  principles,  they  come  to  operate  regular- 
ly, and  form  habits  of  action  in  the  child  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance. 

In  order  that  written  reports  should  have  a  permanently 
good  effect,  they  must  be,  as  nearly  as  possible,  just,  I 


MOTIVES.  509 

say  as  nearly  as  possible,  because  I  hold  it  to  be  almost 
impossible  that  they  should  be  quite  just.  To  be  so,  the 
dullest  child  in  a  school,  who  has  made  uniform  and  faith- 
ful exertions,  should  have  an  expression  of  entire  commen- 
dation ;  and  to  be  able  to  say  how  faithful  the  exertions 
have  been,  we  must  have  a  complete  knowledge  of  the  ca- 
pacity and  character  of  the  child.  Now,  as  this  is  obvi- 
ously very  difficult,  it  is  equally  so  to  do  absolute  justice. 
An  earnest  desire,  however,  on  the  part  of  the  teacher,  to 
do  exact  justice,  and  to  rectify  any  instance  of  injustice 
which  is  brought  to  his  knowledge,  has  almost  the  effect 
of  justice. 

The  reputation  for  justice  and  benevolence  in  the  teach- 
er is,  of  course,  essential  to  his  having  a  good  influence  in 
the  bestowal  of  his  own  approbation.  The  expressed  ap- 
probation of  an  able  teacher  will  have  its  effect,  doubtless, 
in  stimulating  to  exertion,  even  when  it  is  clearly  unjust. 
But  the  influence  of  such  approbation  is  pernicious,  inas- 
much as  it  sacrifices  the  child's  love  of  justice  to  his  prog- 
ress in  his  studies  ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  a  teacher  of 
moderate  intellectual  ability  will  be  able  to  give  great  force 
to  his  approbation,  and  to  exert  an  influence  on  his  pupils 
higher  far  than  belongs  to  his  own  mere  intellect,  if  he  takes 
care  always  to  fortify  his  opinions  by  an  appeal  to  their 
natural  sense  of  justice. 

This  sense  of  justice,  however,  in  children  collected 
from  families  of  all  kinds,  such  as  usually  make  up  a  mis- 
cellaneous school,  needs  continual  correction.  It  is  apt  to 
be  warped  by  too  strong  a  feeling,  in  each  individual,  of 
his  own  rights,  and  a  disregard  of  the  rights  of  others. 
Occasionally  you  find  a  child  who  thinks  that  more  than 
justice  is  done  to  himself.  Much  more  frequently,  each 
thinks  he  receives  less  than  justice.  When  a  teacher  is 
sure  he  is  himself  just,  at  least  in  his  intentions,  he  may 
correct  the  perceptions  of  justice  in  his  pupils.  Till  this 
Uu2 


510  THE    SCHOOL. 

is  done,  he  cannot  safely  appeal  to  their  judgment  to  award 
the  meed  of  approbation. 

The  love  of  approbation,  then,  with  these  limitations, 
may  be  appealed  to  as  a  powerful  and  harmless  motive. 
Without  these  limitations  it  must  be  admitted  to  be  unsafe, 
from  the  danger  of  its  invading  the  province  of  those  high- 
er principles,  which  it  should  be  the  business  of  education 
to  establish  as  umpires  over  all  the  parts  of  the  mental  and 
moral  constitution. 

II.  The  love  of  knowledge,  and  the  pleasure  of  exercising 
the  faculties  in  learning. 

Any  one  who  had  never  been  inside  of  a  school,  but 
had  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  things  in  the  creation 
and  of  the  history  of  man  by  observation,  and  converse, 
and  reading,  among  men  and  women  engaged  in  the  usual 
occupations  of  life,  would  be  surprised  to  be  told  that  little 
advantage  is  taken,  in  the  common  course  of  instruction, 
of  this  universal  and  most  powerful  principle.  What 
can  be  more  universal  or  more  powerful  than  curiosity  ? — 
this  instinctive  love  of  the  soul  for  all  the  beautiful  crea- 
tion into  the  midst  of  which  it  has  been  born  ? — this  innate 
yearning  of  every  faculty  towards  the  objects  for  which  it 
was  created  ?  Observe  how,  in  a  child,  every  sound  awa- 
kens it.  See  how  every  colour,  every  motion,  every  new 
form  charms.  See  with  what  delight  the  young  lord  of  the 
world  handles,  lifts,  pulls,  breaks,  weighs,  and  measures  the 
materials  of  his  future  power,  the  creatures  of  his  empire. 
Mark  the  rapt  attention  with  which  he  listens  to  the  story 
of  every  one  of  his  fellow-creatures,  of  the  lower  or  the 
higher  races, — the  impatience  with  which  he  waits  for  your 
answer  to  his  innumerable  questions  about  ends,  and  causes, 
and  mechanisms, — the  how,  and  whence,  and  what  for  ;  and 
then  be  told  that  this  almost  irrepressible  desire  to  learn  is 
repressed,  this  powerful  impulse  is  neglected  and  forgotten, 
and  the  noble  boy  is  made  to  learn,  not  because  knowledge 


MOTIVES.  511 

is  delightful,  and  by  the  delight  with  which  the  heart  and 
mind  spring  outward  to  it,  but  by  being  mated  against  his 
brother,  and  by  his  desire  of  outstripping  him, — by  blows, 
and  shame,  and  envy  ! 

And  how  happens  this  ?  We  mistake  the  means  for 
the  end.  Instead  of  endeavouring  to  teach  things  of  hu- 
man life,  the  laws  of  the  creation,  the  character  of  the 
infinitely  benevolent  Author,  we  act  as  if  we  thought  that 
the  great  ends  of  teaching  were  how  to  spell  and  read,  and 
cipher  and  parse.  We  imprison  a  child  for  hours,  and  con- 
demn him  to-  stillness  at  an  age  when  he  was  never  intend- 
ed to  be  still,  and  put  into  his  hands  a  book  of  columns  and 
pages  of  nonsense,  page  after  page  of  impenetrable,  inex- 
plicable nonsense,  and  then  wonder  that  he  is  not  as  bright 
and  gleesome  as  we  have  seen  him  in  a  garden,  in  the  pur- 
suit of  flowers  and  butterflies.  We  approach  him  with  an 
outstretched  ferule,  and  stern  look  and  voice,  and  are  vexed 
that  he  is  not  as  much  delighted  to  see  us  as  if  we  came 
with  smiles  -and  kindness.  We  carry  on  this  process  for 
some  years,  and  then  wonder  that  all  his  associations  with 
a  school  are  not  pleasurable.  The  wonder  should  be,  that 
any  child  should  be  susceptible  of  being  moulded  to  our 
will  to  such  a  degree  that  any  of  these  associations  should 
be  pleasant. 

But  how  shall  the  love  of  knowledge  be  substituted  for 
the  usual  motives  ?  How  shall  a  child  be  taught  spelling, 
and  reading,  and  parsing  by  the  desire  of  knowledge  1  As 
to  reading,  it  is  now  usually,  when  taught  at  home  by  kind 
and  intelligent  parents,  taught  through  the  love  of  knowledge, 
— or  that  and  love  of  a  parent's  approbation.  Put  suitable, 
well-written  children's  books,  such  as  they  can  perfectly  un- 
derstand, into  the  hands  of  children,  and  they  will  soon  learn 
to  read,  from  the  desire  of  getting  at  what  they  contain. 
And  they  will  learn  to  read,  not  in  the  drawling,  monotonous 
tone  so  common  in  schools,  but  in  a  simple  and  natural  man 


612  THE    SCHOOL. 

ner,  with  spirit  and  effect.  I  have  now  in  my  eye  and  in 
my  heart  two  children,  who,  without  a  tear  or  a  sigh,  but 
with  delight,  learned,  of  a  sensible  and  loving  mother,  how 
to  read,  and  well  too  ;  and  beautifully  and  naturally  they 
did  read,  so  that  it  was  a  pleasure  to  hear  them,  until  they 
went  to  school.  There,  from  books  they  could  not  under- 
stand, and  befitting  teachers,  they  soon  learned  to  substitute 
for  the  natural  method,  in  which  feeling  answered  to  feel- 
ing and  thought  to  thought,  the  loud,  boisterous,  humdrum, 
school  mode,  which  had  nothing  to  do  with  sense  or  feel- 
ing. 

Regard  reading  as  an  end,  and  you  will  not  succeed  in 
teaching  it  well.  Consider  it  only  as  the  means  by  which 
the  heart  and  head  of  the  writer  may  reach  the  heart  and 
head  of  the  reader,  and  it  becomes  an  easy  and  natural  thing. 
We  often  hear  surprise  expressed  that  there  are  so  few 
good  readers,  when  so  much  time  is  spent  on  the  art.  The 
wonder  rather  is,  that  there  should  be  any  ;  that  a  child 
should  be  carried  through  the  long  rigmarole  of  the  spelling- 
book,  such  as  we  usually  find  it,  and  ever  after  be  able  to 
learn  to  read  well  at  all. 

If  the  object  of  a  teacher  were  to  communicate  as  much 
knowledge  as  possible,  he  would  immediately  find  that  the 
love  of  knowledge  might  be  enlisted,  and  that  much  might 
be  communicated,  without  having  recourse  to  other  stimu- 
lants. For  this  purpose,  however,  he  must  pursue  one  of 
two  courses.  He  must  either  select  simple,  well-written 
books  for  the  pupils  to  read,  or  he  must  make  special  prep- 
aration himself,  that  he  may  supply  the  place  of  books.  In 
most  schools,  it  would  be  difficult  to  introduce  a  sufficient 
variety  of  books  to  communicate  information  upon  all  the 
subjects  upon  which  instruction  should  be  given.  In  none 
would  it  be  impossible  for  the  teacher  to  impart  a  great 
amount  of  valuable  knowledge  to  pupils  in  almost  every 
stage  of  advancement.  The  subjects  which  will  be  found 


MOTIVES.  513 

interesting  to  children  are  such  as  the  following:  the  ap- 
pearance, food,  dress,  manners,  and  customs  of  different  na- 
tions, and  whatever  relates  to  the  condition  of  man  in  all 
parts  of  the  world  ;  the  air  and  its  motions,  and  the  cause 
of  wind  ;  water,  what  it  is  made  of,  how  it  is  raised  into  the 
air,  and  falls,  and  flows  into  the  sea, — how  it  freezes,  and 
forms  snow,  and  rends  rocks  ;  rocks,  their  uses,  the  fact  that 
they  are  made  of  airs  and  combustible  substances  ;  heat  and 
its  effects  ;  useful  plants,  such  as  are  used  for  food,  or  fuel,  or 
the  arts,  what  makes  them  grow,  and  how  beautiful  they 
are  ;  animals,  their  sagacity,  habits,  uses ;  the  moon,  its 
changes  and  action  on  the  tides  ;  ships,  how  they  are  made, 
how  they  sail,  whither  they  go,  what  they  carry  ;  short  his- 
tories, anecdotes  of  great  or  good  men,  and  others  without 
number. 

Let  a  teacher  make  it  a  part  of  every  day's  duties  to 
prepare  himself  to  communicate  some  particular  piece  of  in- 
formation, and  feel  a  strong  interest  in  it  himself,  and  I  doubt 
whether  he  will  find  it  difficult  to  excite  interest  in  children. 
Let  him,  for  example,  tell  his  pupils  that  there  is  a  country 
where,  for  some  weeks  in  winter,  the  sun  does  not  rise,  and 
where  the  snow  is  often  so  deep  that  there  is  no  travelling, 
and  ask  them  how  they  think  people  can  occupy  themselves 
during  these  long  nights  ;  then  let  him  give  the  beautiful 
picture  we  have  of  the  domestic  life  and  habits  of  the  Ice- 
landers, where  every  family  is  a  school  and  a  workshop,  and 
the  business  and  the  instruction  of  life  go  on  together.  Or 
let  him  tell  them  how  glass  is  made,  or  how  a  book  is  print- 
ed, and  I  have  no  fear  that  he  will  have  to  whip  them  to  at- 
tention. 

He  must,  however,  learn  to  talk,  not  Latin,  not  from  the 
dictionary,  but  in  simple,  downright,  household  Saxon  Eng- 
lish, such  as  men  of  sense  talk  on  their  farms  and  in  their 
workshops,  and  women  of  sense  in  their  kitchens  or  among 
their  sisters.  Let  the  end  of  talking  be  to  interest  and  in- 
struct, not  to  exhibit  himself. 


514  THE    SCHOOL. 

And  let  him  not  be  discouraged  if  he  do  not  succeed 
the  first  or  second  time.  It  will  require  some  practice  to 
enable  him  to  do  the  thing  well  himself,  and- it  will  require 
some  patience  to  break  up  the  bad  habits  of  inattention  in 
children,  and  accustom  them  to  listen  and  look.  But  what 
good  thing  is  there  that  we  can  get  without  any  trouble  ? 
And  this  art  is  well  worth  the  pains. 

III.  The  love  of  truth. 

A  love  of  truth  must  emanate  from  the  teacher.  It  is  in 
vain  that  he  shall  attempt  to  impress  it  upon  his  pupils,  if 
he  have  it  not  in  his  own  breast.  And  he  will  teach  it  more 
effectively,  just  in  proportion  as  he  has  it  more  deeply  and 
sincerely.  Let  him  feel  an  entire  reverence  for  the  truth, 
and  let  him  show  this  in  his  words  and  actions. 

Many  practices,  common  in  school,  have  a  tendency  to 
destroy,  or  at  least  to  weaken,  the  love  of  truth.  A  teach- 
er should  never  distrust  a  pupil  without  cause.  In  doing 
so,  he  does  what  he  can  to  teach  him  falsehood.  A  child 
is  never  so  much  tempted  to  lie  as  when  he  finds  he  is  al- 
ready considered  a  liar. 

I  need  hardly  say  he  should  never  tempt  his  pupils  to  lie. 
An  obvious  feeling  and  understanding  of  the  command, 
Swear  not  at  all,  is,  never  make  a  promise.  I  believe  it 
was  given  by  him  who  knew  what  weakness  is  in  man,  to 
guard  this  sacred  love  of  truth.  A  teacher  should  not  re- 
quire nor  allow  his  pupil  to  promise  not  to  repeat  an  act. 
If  he  do,  he  tempts  him  to  break  his  promise.  He  tempts 
him  to  do  a  thing  infinitely  worse  than  the  trifling  offences 
which  he  would  guard  against.  He  ought  to  be  satisfied 
with  pointing  out  the  evil  and  exacting  the  penalty.  But 
let  him  never  require  the  promise. 

Much  harm  is  done  by  attempting  to  induce  children  to 
tell  of  each  other.  Most  children  in  school  have  a  natural 
sense  of  honour  in  regard  to  this,  which,  so  far  from  being 
delated,  should  be  cherished  and  respected.  It  may  be 


MOTIVES.  515 

a  mistaken  sense  of  honour, — it  usually  is ;  but  it  is  a  noble 
feeling,  and  may  be  enlightened  into  a  high  principle.  The 
detection  of  the  author  of  little  freaks  of  childish  folly,  or 
even  of  childish  mischief,  is,  and  should  be  considered,  of 
infinitely  less  consequence  than  the  preservation  of  this 
sense  of  honour.  There  is  no  great  harm  in  the  culprit's 
escaping ;  there  is  very  great  in  children's  learning  to  re- 
gard each  other  and  themselves  as  informers. 

If  a  teacher  will  look  a  little  into  his  own  motives,  he 
will  find  that  the  anxious  desire  to  bring  to  light  and  pun- 
ishment a  culprit  who  has  been  guilty  of  some  practical 
joke  or  violation  of  school-law,  has  more  of  selfishness  and 
pride  in  it,  than  love  of  justice  or  of  the  good  of  the  offend- 
er. Let  him  have  magnanimity  enough  to  look  upon  his 
own  laws  as  of  little  consequence,  in  comparison  with  the 
real  good  of  his  pupils,  and  he  will  be  less  galled  at  seeing 
them  broken ;  and,  if  he  persevere  long  enough,  he  will 
awaken  a  magnanimity  in  the  pupil,  which  will  be  a  surer 
protection  of  his  laws  than  any  selfish  precaution.  When 
the  pupil  sees  that  the  master's  anxiety  for  the  execution 
of  the  laws  comes  from  a  consideration  that  they  are  his 
laws,  he  loses  respect  for  the  law  and  for  the  law-maker. 
But  convince  him  that  you  have  a  higher  regard  for  him 
than  you  have  for  your  temporary  laws,  and  you  soon  enlist 
the  feelings  of  his  better  nature  in  favour  of  yourself  and 
your  regulations. 

In  a  school  at  least,  if  not  in  society,  how  much  might 
be  gained  on  the  score  of  justice  and  truth  by  constant 
reference  to  that  code,  according  to  which  the  most  effect- 
ual punishment  for  one  frail  creature  to  inflict  upon  another 
equally  frail  is— -forgiveness  ? 

Another  temptation  to  falsehood  to  be  avoided,  always,  if 
possible,  is  the  setting  one  child  to  be  monitor  or  spy  over 
others.  I  know  that,  in  some  schools  and  according  to 
some  systems,  this  is  unavoidable.  But  I  know,  also,  that 


516  THE    SCHOOL. 

it  is  liable  to  produce  falsehood,  injustice,  and  ill  feeling. 
A  child  must  be  more  than  a  child, — he  must  have,  in  abun- 
dant measure,  all  the  best  qualifications  of  a  mature  teacher, 
to  be  able  to  perform  justly,  truly,  and  kindly  the  duties  of 
a  monitor.  Such  there  sometimes  are,-  and  such  may  be 
employed.  But  none  others  should. 

I  have  adverted  briefly  to  the  common  occasions  of  a 
departure  from  truth.  I  have  done  it  from  a  conviction  that 
the  love  and  the  habit  of  truth-telling  are  of  infinitely  more 
importance  than  any  acquisition  connected  with  studies 
which  can  ever  be  made  in  school,  and  for  the  sake  of 
which  the  love  of  the  truth  is  put  at  hazard. 

The  desire  of  attaining  to  the  truth  in  matters  of  science 
or  history  will  be  found  to  be  a  natural  consequence  of 
the  love  of  moral  truth,  of  which  I  have  been  speaking. 
This  is  a  strong  inducement  to  thoroughness  in  investiga- 
tion ;  but  I  admit  that  it  comes  into  operation  later,  and  sup- 
poses a  higher  degree  of  advancement,  than  any  other  of 
the  motives  of  which  I  have  had  occasion  to  speak. 

Its  cultivation,  however,  is  of  such  consequence,  that  it 
ought  to  receive  far  more  attention  than  is  usually  given  it. 
A  teacher  has  many  opportunities  of  inculcating  it.  The 
extravagant  language  that  young  persons  are  very  prone  to 
use,  though  possibly  proceeding  only  from  exuberant  feel- 
ings, should  be  guarded  and  repressed.  Over-statements 
naturally  lead  to  falsehood.  Good  taste,  as  well  as  truth, 
is  concerned  in  the  restriction ;  exaggeration  is  a  violation 
of  both. 

Exactness  in  statements,  and  in  the  performance  of  all 
school  exercises,  is  chiefly  important  in  its  moral  relations, 
as  leading  to  scrupulous  adherence  to  truth. 

IV.  The  desire  of  advancement  and  progress  is  a  natural 
and  commendable  motive.  The  only  difficulty  is,  so  to  di- 
rect and  control  it,  as  to  prevent  the  competition  becoming 
personal.  And  it  is  so  necessary  an  ingredient  in  every 


MOTIVES.  517 

intelligent  and  active  character,  that  it  is  of  great  importance 
that  a  right  direction  should  be  given  to  it  in  early  life. 

1  shall  suggest,  in  a  few  words,  some  modes  in  which 
this  may  be  done. 

1.  The  pupil  may  be  led  to  desire  to  be  more  perfect 
in  the  study  in  which  he  is  engaged.     This  is  not  so  dif- 
ficult as  might  at  first  be  thought.     Self-emulation  may  be 
easily  excited.     Show  a  child  that  what  he  is  doing  he 
may  do  better  ;  have  patience  with  his  slow  improvement ; 
commend  the  slightest  advance,  and  be  just  in  marking  that 
advance  ;  you  lead  him  to  enter  into  judgment  with  him- 
self.    He  compares  what  he  is  doing  with  what  he  had 
done  ;  he  sees  that  he  has  attained  something ;  he  becomes 
his  own  friend.     But  we  must  be  careful  to  refer  to  the 
right  standard.     Let  him  not  applaud  himself  for  doing 
more,  unless  it  be  also  better.     Better  should  be  ever  the 
word. 

2.  He  will  need  little  excitement  to  be  made  to  desire  to 
rise  to  a  higher  class  or  division.    Let  him  desire  it ;  and  let 
him  be  advanced,  but  only  with  the  condition  that  all,  as  he 
goes,  be  learned  thoroughly.     The  stimulus  may  act  upon 
a  whole  division,  consisting  of  many  individuals.     All  may 
push  on  together,  without  ill-feeling,  to  a  higher  division 
This  should  be  done  as  often  as  it  can,  in  most  schools,  for 
another  reason,  that  classes  should  be  as  few  as  is  consist- 
ent with  the  progress  of  all.     Tf  the  principle  of  self-judg- 
ment has  been  properly  brought  to  act,  some  may  be  advan- 
ced without  injury  to  the  rights  and  feelings  of  those  left 
behind.     They,  indeed,  will  prefer  not  to  be  advanced  rath- 
er than  to  go  unprepared. 

3.  There  is  a  sufficiently  strong  desire  always  exist- 
ing among  children  to  go  on  to  higher  studies.  It  may  be 
rendered  useful  by  faithfully  requiring  thoroughness  in  the 
present  study,  as  a  condition  of  advancement  to  a  new  one. 
Curiosity  thus  stimulates  love  of  progress.  An  examina- 
Xx 


518  THE    SCHOOL. 

tion  may  determine  the  qualification  ;  or,  if  the  same  teach- 
er have  charge  of  both  classes,  he  may  decide,  without 
special  examination,  that  a  part  or  the  whole  of  one  class 
is  qualified  to  go  on  to  a  higher,  or  to  pursue  another  study. 

4.  A  school  may  be  divided  into  several  divisions,  ac- 
cording to  general  progress  and  deportment.    Let  the  grades 
be  so  numerous  that  the  distance  between  contiguous  divis- 
ions shall  not  be  great.     This  arrangement  may  exist  only 
on  paper,  in  the  record  of  the  school.     It  need  not  affect 
the  studies  or  the  seats  of  the  pupils.     And  it  is  much  bet- 
ter that  it  should  not.     A  child  may  be  in  the  same  divis- 
ion, on  the  book,  with  another,  but  be  in  a  higher  class  in 
Arithmetic,  a  lower  in  Reading,  and  a  different  one  in  Geog- 
raphy.    Personal  competition  is  much  weakened  by  these 
various  arrangements  according  to  progress,  while  better 
motives  are  brought  to  act  more  powerfully.     It  will  be  a 
strong  inducement  to  a  child  to  have  a  faultless  character 
for  three  months,  if  the  consequence  is  also  to  have  a  high- 
er place  on  the  weekly  record  of  the  school.     And  the 
contest  is  prevented  from  being  a  personal  one,  by  the 
names  in  each  division  being  arranged  alphabetically.    Fif- 
teen, or  any  other  number  of  pupils,  may  thus  have  the  sat- 
isfaction of  having  raised  themselves,  from  grade  to  grade,  to 
the  first  division,  without  having  any  emulation,  as  no  one 
of  the  number  shall  know  which  is  highest  or  lowest  of  the 
fifteen. 

5.  If  there  be  a  system  of  several  connected  schools, 
examination  for  each  higher  one  may  be  rendered  a  strong 
motive  to  study.     Every  one  who  has  had  any  experience  in 
preparing  boys  for  college,  knows  how  powerfully,  as  it 
draws  near,  the  expectation  of  the  examination  for  admission 
acts.*     It  seems  very  desirable  and  very  practicable  to  in- 

*  Every  college  examiner  who  lowers  the  standard  of  require- 
ment does  a  wrong  to  all  the  youth  who  are  looking  in  that  direo- 


MOTIVES.  519 

troduce  a  gradation  of  schools  into  all  the  large  towns  of 
New-England  and  New- York.  A  few,  taught  by  masters 
of  first-rate  qualifications,  might  accomplish  more  than  is 
effected  by  many  under  inferior  teachers.  Those  of  the 
second  grade  might  be  better  taught  than  they  now  are,  by 
females.  If  admission  to  the  higher  depended  on  a  thorough 
examination,  a  strong  and  effectual  motive  would  be  brought 
to  bear  on  a  class  that  now  stand  in  need  of  one  ; — tall  boys, 
who  think  themselves  too  old  for  the  dominion  of  a  woman. 

Nearly  connected  with  this  is 

V.  The  desire  of  preparing  for  the  business  and  duties 
of  life. 

It  often  happens  that  young  men  who  have  been  idle  du- 
ring the  course  of  their  academical  or  collegiate  education, 
become  diligent  and  careful  when  they  enter  upon  the  study 
of  a  particular  profession.  This  is  not  the  consequence  of 
maturer  years  only,  but,  rather,  that  the  business  of  life  is 
placed  distinctly  before  them,  and  the  necessity  of  specific 
preparation  for  it  rendered  evident.  The  same  principle 
might  have  been  appealed  to  with  effect  in  every  part  of 
their  previous  course.  The  child  learning  his  letters  may 
oftentimes  be  urged  to  attention  by  being  shown  that  he  will 
thereby  obtain  the  advantage  of  reading  whatever  and  when- 
ever he  pleases.  He  will  be  induced  to  learn  to  spell  and 
to  write,  by  being  convinced  that  writing  will  be  an  advan- 
tage and  a  pleasure  to  him  in  his  future  life.  The  boy  who 
is  to  look  only  to  his  own  exertions  for  support,  will  be 
stimulated  to  diligence  from  the  beginning  of  his  studies, 
if  it  can  be  made  clear  to  him  that  success  in  life  will  de- 
pend on  his  excellence  as  a  scholar.  The  generous  boy 
of  twelve,  who  is  made  to  foresee  that  the  support  of  a 

tion.  If  all  the  colleges  of  the  Northern  and  Middle  States  could 
be  induced  to  unite,  they  could  easily  and  rapidly  raise  all  the  pre- 
paratory schools  to  a  far  higher  grade,  by  agreeing  to  insist  on  high- 
er qualifications. 


520  THE    SCHOOL. 

mother  or  a  sister  will  depend  on  him,  and  that  all  he  can 
have  to  rely  on  is  his  talents  and  his  education,  will  press 
on  with  the  resolution  to  get  the  best  education  and  make 
the  most  of  his  talents.  The  future  merchant  will  apply 
patiently  to  Arithmetic,  Letter-writing,  and  Book-keeping, 
when  he  is  convinced  that  these  are  necessary  to  his  prep- 
aration for  his  future  calling.  Chemistry  and  Vegetable 
Physiology  will  recommend  themselves  to  the  future  farm- 
er on  the  same  grounds  ;  Geometry  and  Physics  to  the 
mechanic  ;  and  Physiology  and  the  laws  of  the  constitution 
to  her  who  realizes  that  an  important  part  of  the  duty  of 
woman  is  to  nurse  the  sick  and  to  bring  up  children  in 
health. 

Such  views  should  never  be  omitted  in  recommending  a 
study  to  our  pupils ;  and  if  there  be  a  study  in  regard  to 
which  such  statements  cannot  be  made,  we  may  reasonably 
hesitate  whether  we  have  a  right  to  recommend  it  to  them. 
We  must  take  care,  however,  that  the  view  we  take  of  suc- 
cess in  life  be  not  the  mean  and  ordinary  one  which  meas- 
ures everything  by  its  pecuniary  value,  but  the  loftier  one, 
based  upon  more  just  ideas  of  the  worth  of  our  existence, 
and  the  elevation,  excellence,  and  happiness  which  should 
be  its  aim.  ,.  w-_ 

A  lad  of  some  talent,  who  had  failed  to  be  influenced  by 
the  rod,  by  medals,  by  the  desire  of  pleasing  his  friends,  or 
fear  or  love  of  his  instructor,  was  awakened  as  from  a  sleep 
by  a  striking  picture  of  the  miserable  condition  of  an  old 
age  spent  without  any  of  the  resources  which  love  of  books 
can  give.  What  was  immediately  before  him  did  not  touch 
him ;  but  his  imagination  passed  over  youth  and  manhood, 
of  which  he  felt  secure,  and  dwelt  upon  old  age  ;  and  the 
desire  of  being,  at  that  period  of  his  life,  surrounded  by 
friends  and  books,  set  him  seriously  at  work. 
VI.  The  generous  affections. 
Every  school  might  be,  in  a  much  greater  degree  than  is 


MOTIVES.  521 

Ollen  thought  possible,  governed  and  controlled  by  an  ap- 
peal to  the  highest  and  most  generous  affections  that  belong 
to  the  human  character.  I  admit  that  it  would  be  often  dif- 
ficult, and,  to  some  of  us,  impossible  ;  but  the  fault  would 
be  with  ourselves.  It  would  be  because  we  have  riot,  in  a 
sufficiently  ample  measure,  the  qualities  that  we  would  call 
up  in  our  pupils  ;  for,  to  avail  himself  of  these  principles, 
the  teacher  must  have  them  in  his  own  character.  How 
can  he  touch  the  spring  of  generous  feeling  in  his  pupils 
who,  in  his  intercourse  with  them,  is  habitually  influenced 
by  low  and  selfish  motives  ? 

1.  He  should  have  a  strong  sympathy  with  childhood, 
and  he  should  not  be  ashamed  to  feel  and  express  it.  The 
affections,  as  truly  as  genius,  are  always  young.  They 
never  grow  old.  And  if  they  did,  life  is  so  short,  that  the 
oldest  of  us  have  to  look  back  but  a  very  few  years  to  enter 
again  into  the  feelings  of  childhood.  Without  sympathy, 
the  teacher  cannot  understand,  much  less  direct,  the  feel* 
ings  of  the  child.  But  a  ready  sympathy  will  enable  him 
to  understand  the  difficulties  that  a  child  meets  with, — how 
obscure  the  plainest  thing  may  appear  to  him ;  how  long 
the  shortest ;  and  how  soon  his  scanty  stock  of  patience  is 
exhausted.  It  is  partly  from  their  quicker  sympathy  that 
females  are  so  much  better  qualified' to  teach  young  children 
than  we  are  ;  partly,  also,  from  the  silly  pride  that  is  apt  to 
prevail  among  men,  particularly  those  of  obtuse  perceptions, 
and  the  savage  idea  that  want  of  sympathy  is  not  a  want, 
that  hardness  is  manliness  ;  forgetting  that  the  men  of  the 
best  endowments  have  been  always  marked  by  the  most 
extensive  sympathies. 

The  most  generous  allowance  should  be  made  for  the 
faults  of  children ;  the  most  lenient  construction  should  be 
put  upon  every  offence.  We  may  easily  remember,  if  we 
will,  that  our  own  faults,  when  children,  were  far  more  fre- 
quently those  of  ignorance,  of  thoughtlessness,  of  impulse, 
Xx2 


522  THE    SCHOOL, 

or  of  weakness,  than  of  design  or  of  malice.  Such  are 
always  the  sources  of  most  of  their  faults  ;  and  it  is  un- 
reasonable to  expect  to  find  children  without  faults.  It  is 
unreasonable,  too,  when  these  causes  are  so  obvious,  to  look 
deeperand  search  for  anything  worse.  Impute  to  children 
the  best  motives,  and  you  create  them,  or,  rather,  you  bring 
into  action  those  principles  which  produce  the  best  motives. 
We  cannot  doubt  that  the  capacity  for  all  that  is  good  and 
noble  exists  in  every  child,  and  only  needs  to  be  roused 
and  brought  out  by  the  teacher.  His  power  of  doing  this 
will  be  in  proportion  to  the  elevation  of  his  own  character. 
2.  A  teacher  must  show  entire  confidence  in  the  child  ; 
and  not  only  show,  but  feel  it.  Confidence  begets  confi- 
dence, as  distrust  begets  distrust  and  falsehood.  There  is 
no  other  so  ready  way  to  produce  falsehood  in  a  child  as  to 
doubt  his  word.  x\nd  it  must  be  so.  A  doubter  is  a  liar. 
One  who  was  himself  perfectly  true  could  never  suspect. 
It  is  true  that  there  is  a  distrust  produced  by  the  experience 
of  other  men's  falsehoods.  But  this  belongs  to  the  world. 
It  cannot  be  felt  by  a  teacher  towards  a  child.  Real  truth, 
like  charity,  thinketh  no  evil.  Distrust,  therefore,  to  the 
whole  extent  of  the  influence  a  teacher  has,  corrupts  the 
principle  of  truth,  and  generates  falsehood.  It  is  as  if  he 
said  to  the  child,  '  I  distrust  you,  because  I  believe  that  you 
are  like  myself.'  But  a  child  who  feels  that  his  teacher 
confides  in  him  has  all  the  strength  of  the  teacher's  charac- 
ter on  the  side  of  his  own  good  promptings  and  resolutions. 
He  can,  perhaps,  resist  the  temptation  from  within,  if  all 
from  without  is  removed.  The  teacher's  smile  gives  him 
confidence  in  himself.  He  is  safe,  because  he  is  in  good 
company.  But  let  the  teacher  meet  him  with  the  dark  leer 
of  suspicion,  and  the  trembling  flame  of  truth  within  him 
goes  out.  '  What  am  I  to  lose,'  thinks  the  child,  '  by  this 
falsehood  ?  He  already  looks  upon  me  as  a  liar ;  and  by  a 
lie  I  may  save  myself  from  the  consequences  of  this  of- 


MOTIVES.  523 

fence.'  For  thus  is  falsehood  always  cowardly  and  full 
of  fear.  Let  us  remove  the  fear,  if  we  would  prevent 
the  lie. 

3.  The  teacher  should  take  care  to  make  it  felt  that  he 
is  on  the  side  of  his  pupils.  This  is  often  difficult.  In 
some  schools  the  master  has  always  been  looked  upon  as 
an  enemy,  and  the  impression  comes  down  by  inheritance 
to  all  the  children.  The  same,  too,  is  the  impression  of 
parents,  which  makes  the  case  still  harder.  But  the  diffi- 
culty will  cease  in  the  case  of  one  who  has  a  genuine  sym- 
pathy for  his  pupils.  They  are  quick  to  find  out  their 
friends ;  and  if  he  is  a  true  friend — a  prudent,  wise,  and 
confiding  friend,  they  cannot  miss  of  sooner  or  later  finding 
it  out. 

The  common  truth,  —  almost  too  common  even  for  a 
proverb, — that  we  learn  more  from  imitation  than  precept, 
is  in  everybody's  mouth,  and  yet  how  much  disregarded  in 
practice.  What  higher  object  can  be  proposed  than  to 
teach  the  moral  virtues,  justice,  liberality,  charity,  gentle- 
ness, generosity,  humility  ?  But  how  can  he  properly  teach 
justice  who  is  habitually  unfair  ?  or  liberality,  who  is  mean- 
spirited  ?  or  charity,  who  is  close  and  suspicious  ?  or  gen- 
tleness, who  is  rough  and  overbearing  ?  or  generosity,  who 
is  overreaching  and  selfish  1  or  humility,  who  is  proud,  and 
querulous,  and  self-sufficient  ? 

VII.  Conscientiousness,  and  the  desire  of  obeying  the 
laAvs  of  God. 

The  highest  object  of  education,  I  repeat,  is  to  establish 
the  dominion  of  these  principles,  and  to  form  the  habit  of 
acting  under  their  influence.  This  is  to  be  accomplished 
by  exercising  them,  or,  so  fa?  as  it  depends  on  the  teacher, 
by  constantly  appealing  to  them,  so  as  to  call  them  into  ac- 
tion. 

The  conscience,  beginning  to  act  in  very  early  childhood, 
is,  in  many  individuals,  more  active  then  than  at  any  future 


THE    SCHOOL. 

period.  The  common  course  of  education,  both  in  school 
find  out  of  school,  is  wrong  in  nothing  else  so  much  as  in 
failing  to  give  greater  activity,  to  the  conscience.  The  child 
who  is  once  habituated,  as  under  a  conscientious  mother  he 
may  be,  to  ask  the  question  "  Is  it  right  ?"  in  regard  to  ev- 
ery  proposed  action,  might  easily  be  led  to  continue  to  do 
this,  and  would  then  grow  up,  seeking  always,  and  first  of 
all,  to  do  his  duty.  But  how  often  are  his  scruples  laughed 
at.  How  constantly  does  he  see  those  about  him  acting 
from  appetite,  from  malice,  from  passion,  from  self-interest, 
from  desire  of  the  approval  of  the  world,  from  the  wish  to 
outstrip  others,  and  from  the  other  ordinary  low  motives. 
How  constantly  are  these  presented  to  himself.  No  won- 
der that  the  still,  small  voice  of  conscience  is  never  heard, 
or,  if  heard,  that  it  is  stifled  by  the  confused  sounds  about 
him.  It  should  be  our  endeavour  to  change  this  state  of 
things,  to  take  the  side  of  conscience,  to  point  out  what  is 
wrong  and  what  is  right,  and  to  suggest  constantly  the  ques- 
tion, Is  it  right  1 — not  always  in  so  many  words,  but  in  such 
a  manner  that  it  shall  really  be  asked  within.  With  pupils 
of  all  ages,  I  have  from  no  other  source  seen  such  satisfac- 
tory effects  produced,  as  from  the  action  of  this  principle 
arid  affection  alone.  I  have  never  known  a  young  person 
insensible  to  the  simple  statement, "  You  can  do  better  than 
this,  and  you  ought ;"  nor  any  form  of  reward  which  produ- 
ced its  effect  more  clearly  and  certainly  than  being  able  to 
say, "  You  have  done  well" — "  that  is  right" — "  that  is  very 
well !" 

But  the  conscience  is  to  be  enlightened.  This  is  to  be 
done  by  teaching  the  child  his  relation  to  God,  as  his  Au- 
thor and  the  Creator  of  his  conscience,  as  of  everything 
else,  thus  showing  the  authority  of  the  laws  of  God,  and  then 
showing  what  the  laws  of  God  are.  The  laws  of  the  spir- 
itual and  moral  nature  are  to  be  learned  from  the  Bible, — 
most  distinctly  and  fullv  from  the  instructions  of  Jesus 


MOTIVES. 

Christ.  For  this  purpose,  a  portion  of  the  Gospels,  or  a 
selection  from  other  parts,  should,  as  I  have  repeatedly  said, 
be  read  each  day,  and  such  assistance  given,  in  pointing  out 
and  explaining  the  laws,  as  the  teacher  maybe  able  to  give. 
The  two  highest  principles, — the  sentiment  of  duty  and  rev- 
erence for  God  and  his  laws, — are  thus  made  to  act  to- 
gether. 

The  sphere  of  conscientiousness  is  enlarged  by  enlarging 
our  views  of  the  Creator's  laws.  When  the  body  is  admit- 
ted to  be  his  workmanship,  the  laws  of  the  structure  of  the 
body  are  his  laws,  and  whatever  is  necessary  to  secure 
health  becomes  a  part  of  duty.  The  parable  of  the  talents, 
explained  to  signify  all  the  talents,  the  powers  of  mind  and 
of  body,  as  well  as  the  moral  and  religious  faculties,  will 
show  that  every  part  of  our  nature  is  to  be  conscientiously 
cultivated,  improved,  and  perfected,  according  to  the  obvious 
purpose  of  its  Creator. 

I  have  placed  this  class  of  motives  last,  because  it  is 
the  highest.  It  would,  perhaps,  be  more  proper  to  place  it 
first,  as  it  comprehends  all  others ;  and  if  we  could  teach 
and  govern  perfectly,  it  would  take  the  place  of  all  others. 
As  we  advance  in  knowledge  of  our  duties  and  in  skill,  wo 
shall  approach  more  and  more  nearly  to  this  end. 


526  THE    SCHOOLHOUSE. 


BOOK    V. 

THE    SCHOOLHOUSE 
CHAPTER  I. 

SITUATION. 

"  The  outside  of  the  building  is  as  agreeable  as  the  inside  is  con- 
venient ;  it  is  situated  on  the  prettiest  side  of  the  town,  and  has  no 
communication  with  any  other  building.  It  has  a  magnificent  view 
over  a  delightful  country,  a  large  kitchen-garden,  a  commodious 
court,  and  two  flower-gardens." — COUSIN,  The  School  at  Bruhl. 

So  much  do  the  future  health,  vigour,  taste,  and  moral 
principles  of  the  pupil  depend  upon  the  position,  arrange- 
ment, and  construction  of  the  schoolhouse,  that  everything 
about  it  is  important.  When  the  most  desirable  situation 
can  be  selected,  and  the  laws  of  health  and  the  dictates  of 
taste  may  be  consulted,  it  should  be  placed  on  firm  ground, 
on  the  southern  declivity  of  a  gently-sloping  hill,  open  to 
the  southwest,  from  which  quarter  come  the  pleasantest 
winds  in  summer,  and  protected  on  the  northeast  by  the  top 
of  the  hill  or  by  a  thick  wood.  From  the  road  it  should  be 
remote  enough  to  escape  the  noise,  and  dust,  and  danger, 
and  yet  near  enough  to  be  easily  accessible  by  a  path  or 
walk,  always  dry.  About  it  should  be  ample  space,  a  part 
open  for  a  play-ground,  a  part  to  be  laid  out  in  plots  for 
flowers  and  shrubs,  with  winding  alleys  for  walks.  Damp 
places,  in  the  vicinity  of  stagnant  pools  or  unwholesome 
marshes,  and  bleak  hilltops  or  dusty  plains,  should  be  care- 
fully avoided.  Tall  trees  should  partially  shade  the  grounds, 
not  in  stiff  rows  or  heavy  clumps,  but  scattered  irregularly 
as  if  by  the  hand  of  Nature.  Our  native  forests  present 
such  a  choice  of  beautiful  trees,  that  the  grounds  must  be 
very  extensive  to  afford  room  for  even  a  single  fine  speci- 


SITUATION.  527 

men  of  each  ;  yet  this  should,  if  possible,  be  done,  for  chil- 
dren ought  early  to  become  familiar  with  the  names,  ap- 
pearance, and  properties  of  these  noblest  of  inanimate 
things.  The  border  of  a  natural  wood  may  often  be  chosen 
for  the  site  of  a  school ;  but  if  it  is  to  be  thinned  out,  or  if 
trees  are  to  be  planted,  and,  from  limited  space,  a  selection 
is  to  be  made,  the  kingly,  magnificent  oaks,  the  stately 
hickories,  the  spreading  beech  for  its  deep  mass  of  shade, 
the  maples  for  their  rich  and  abundant  foliage,"  the  majestic 
elm,  the  useful  ash,  the  soft  and  graceful  birches,  and  the 
towering,  columnar  sycamore,  claim  precedence.*  Is'ext 
may  come  the  picturesque  locusts,  with  their  hanging,  fra- 
grant flowers ;  the  tulip-tree ;  the  hemlock,  best  of  ever- 
greens ;  the  celtis,  or  sweet  gum  ;  the  nyssa,  or  tupelo,  with 
horizontal  branches  and  polished  leaves ;  the  walnut  and 
butternut,  the  native  poplar,  and  the  aspen. 

Of  extremely  beautiful  American  shrubs,  the  number  is 
so  great  that  I  have  no  room  for  a  list.  What  place  in- 
tended to  form  the  taste  of  the  young,  should  be  without 
the  kalmias,  rhododendrons,  cornels,  roses,  viburnums,  mag- 
nolias, clethras,  honeysuckles,  and  spiraeas  1  And  whoever 
goes  into  the  woods  to  gather  these,  will  find  a  multitude 
of  others  which  he  will  hardly  consent  to  leave  behind. 
The  hilltop  should  be  planted  with  evergreens,  forming  at 
all  seasons  a  barrier  against  the  winds  from  the  north  and 
east. 

Of  the  flower-plots  little  need  be-  said.  They  must  be 
left  to  the  taste  of  the  teacher  and  of  cultivated  persons  in 
the  district.  I  can  only  recommend  our  wild  American 
plants,  and  again  remind  the  reader  that  there  is  hardly  a 
country  town  in  New- York  or  New-England  from  whose 
woods  and  meadows  a  hundred  kinds  of  flowers  might  not 

*  There  are  at  least  ten  oaks,  four  hickories,  three  or  four  maples, 
and  as  many  birches,  native  to  our  woods,  and  all  deserving  the 
character  given  above. 


528  THE    SCHOOLHOUSE. 

be  transplanted,  of  beauty  enough  to  form  the  chief  orna- 
ment of  a  German  or  English  garden,  which  are  now  neg- 
lected only  because  they  are  common  and  wild.  Garden 
flowers  need  not  be  excluded ;  and  if  either  these  or  the  for- 
mer are  cultivated,  the  great  object,  to  present  something 
to  refine  and  inform  the  taste,  will  be  in  some  degree  ac- 
complished. 

Where  land  is  not  excessively  dear,  not  less  than  one 
fourth  of  an  acre  should  be  assigned  for  the  school  lot ;  so 
much  being  essential  for  the  necessary  play-grounds.  If 
proper  enclosed  play-grounds  are  provided,  the  master  may 
often  be  present  at  the  sports,  and  thus  become  acquainted 
with  the  character  of  his  pupils.  If  children  are  compelled 
to  resort  to  the  highway  for  their  amusements,  we  ought  not 
to  wonder  that  they  should  be  contaminated  by  the  vices, 
brawlings,  and  profanity  which  belong  to  the  frequenters 
of  highways.  If  the  additional  purpose  of  improving  the 
taste  and  giving  information  as  to  trees,  shrubs,  and  flowers, 
and  their  management,  be  in  view,  an  acre  at  least  should 
be  appropriated. 

If  the  situation  of  the  house  is  important,  its  structure 
and  internal  arrangement,  its  size,  and  the  way  in  which  it 
is  warmed,  lighted,  and  ventilated,  are  still  more  so.  I 
shall  state,  as  concisely  as  I  can,  the  principles  by  which 
these  particulars  should  be  regulated. 


CHAPTER  II. 

SIZE. 

THE  room  should  be  sufficiently  large  to  allow  every  pu- 
pil, 1.  to  sit  comfortably  at  his  desk ;  2.  to  leave  it  without 
disturbing  any  one  else  ;  3.  to  see  explanations  on  his  les- 
sons, and  to  recite,  without  being  incommoded  or  incommo- 
ding others ;  4.  to  breathe  a  wholesome  atmosphere. 


SIZE.  529 

1.  Each  desk  should  be  large  enough  to  contain  the  books, 
maps,  and  slate  of  its  occupant,  and  to  allow  them  to  be 
spread  open  before  him  ;  and  each  seat  should  be  sufficient 
to  give  an  easy  position  and  freedom  of  motion.  For  these 
purposes,  the  desk  should  be  from  21  to  24  inches  long,  and 
from  13  to  17  wide  ;  and  the  seat  from  10  to  12£  inches  in 
each  dimension,  varying  according  to  the  size  of  the  chil- 
dren. 

2.  Each  seat  should  be  accessible,  at  least  on  one  side, 
by  a  passage  of  sufficient  width  to  allow  the  pupil  or  the 
master  to  pass  without  touching  those  on  either  side ;  and 
there  should  be  a  space  on  one  side,  which,  together  with 
the  passage,  should  be  sufficient  to  allow  the  whole  school 
to  be  standing  at  once. 

3.  There  should  be  sufficient  unoccupied  space,  in  front 
or  in  the  rear  of  the  desks,  to  allow  more  than  one  class  to 
be  conveniently  arranged  while  reciting,  and  to  accommo- 
date the  blackboards  and  other  apparatus  necessary  for  the 
teacher ;  and  in  a  large  school,  this  space  should  be  both 
in  front  and  in  rear,  so  that  two  or  more  classes  may  be  re- 
citing at  one  time  without  disturbing  each  other.     Wherev- 
er arrangements  can  be  made  for  them,  there  should  be  sep- 
arate reciting  rooms. 

4.  The  room  must  be  ventilated ;  but  as  this  may  not  al- 
ways be  done,  during  the  first  hours  of  the  morning,  in  cold 
weather,  inasmuch  as  it  must  necessarily  be  done  at  the 
expense  of  some  portion  of  heat,  the  room  should  be  capa- 
cious enough  to  prevent  the  air  becoming  offensive  and  poi- 
sonous in  the  course  of  a  single  session.     For  this  purpose, 
at  least  150  cubic  feet  of  air  should  be  allowed  for  every 
occupant. 

The  atmosphere,  it  is  well  known,  consists  essentially  of 
oxygen  and  nitrogen,  in  the  proportion  of  about  1  part  of 
the  former  to  4  of  the  latter.     Of  these  two  elements,  oxy- 
gen alone  is  capable  of  sustaining  life,  the  nitrogen  serving 
Y  Y 


530  THE    SCHOOLHOUSE. 

merely  as  a  medium  in  which  the  oxygen  is  diffused,  but 
having  in  itself  no  vital  property.  By  the  process  of  breath- 
ing, the  oxygen  is  rapidly  consumed,  and,  in  its  place,  car- 
bonic acid  gas,  an  air  which  is  poisonous,  is  thrown  into  the 
atmosphere.  Besides  this  cause,  which  is  continually  op- 
erating to  render  the  air  unfit  for  respiration,  the  whole  mass 
of  the  air  around  us  is  gradually  rendered  impure  by  the  va- 
pour which  is  breathed  from  the  lungs,  and  by  the  matter 
which  is  constantly  passing  from  the  surface  of  the  body  in 
insensible  perspiration.  The  amount  of  corruption  produ- 
ced by  these  sources  is  astonishing.  From  1400  to  2000  cu- 
bic inches  of  oxygen  are  every  hour  withdrawn  from  the  air 
by  each  pair  of  lungs.  In  the  same  space  of  time,  from  one 
to  two  ounces  of  foul  matter,  which  has  performed  its  office 
in  the  body  and  become  effete  and  offensive,  is  thrown  into 
the  air  by  insensible  perspiration  from  the  surface  of  the  body 
of  each  individual,  besides  a  portion,  amounting  to  one  third 
as  much,  in  the  vapour  from  the  lungs.* 

The  Creator  has  poured  round  the  earth  an  ocean  cf  air 
40  or  50  miles  in  height,  thus  showing  the  importance  of 
this  element  in  the  economy  of  nature.  When  the  vital  im- 
portance to  the  health  of  the  body  is  considered  of  a  full 
supply  of  perfectly  fresh  air,  and  the  extent  to  which  it  is 
corrupted  by  the  various  sources  mentioned  above,  we  cease 
to  be  surprised  at  the  loathsomeness  of  the  foul,  poisonous 
air  with  which  a  close,  full  room  reeks,  or  at  the  headaches, 
languor,  dullness,  and  ill-temper  which  are  its  immediate  ef- 
fects, or  at  the  habitual  feeling  of  weariness  and  the  sure 

*  Suppose  a  schoolroom  to  be  30  feet  square  and  9  feet  high ;  it 
will  contain  13,996,000  cubic  inches  of  atmospheric  air.  According 
to  Davy  and  Thompson,  two  accurate  and  scientific  chemists,  one 
individual  respires  and  contaminates  6500  cubic  inches  of  air  in  a 
minute.  Fifty  scholars  will  respire  (and  contaminate)  325,000  cu- 
bic inches  in  the  same  time.  In  about  40  minutes  all  the  air  in  such 
a  room  will  have  become  contaminated,  if  fresh  supplies  are  not  pro- 
vided.— Dr.  S.  B.  Woodward's  Letter  to  H.  Mann. 


POSITION    AND    ARRANGEMENT.  531 

exhaustion  of  the  system  which  it  so  often  entails  upon  him 
who  is  condemned  to  breathe  it  constantly  for  years  in  suc- 
cession. 

If  the  first  three  objects  above  mentioned  are  fully  provi- 
ded for,  the  space  on  the  floor  will  be  sufficient.  But  to  se- 
cure the  advantage  of  an  adequate  supply  of  air,  the  room 
must  be  not  less  than  10,  and,  if  possible,  12  or  14  feet 
high. 


CHAPTER  III. 

POSITION    AND    ARRANGEMENT.* 

IT  is  very  desirable  that  the  north  end  of  the  schoolhouse 
be  occupied  by  the  master's  desk ;  that  this  end  be  a  dead 
wall ;  that  the  front  be  towards  the  south ;  and  that  the 

*  Arrangement. — For  the  accommodation  of  56  scholars,  so  as  to 
give  ample  room  for  moving,  for  recitations,  and  for  air,  the  dimen- 
sions of  the  house  should  be  38  feet  by  25,  and  10  feet  in  height 
within.  This  will  allow  an  entry  of  14  feet  by  7£,  lighted  by  a  win- 
dow, furnished  with  wooden  pegs  for  the  accommodation  of 
clothes  ;  a  wood-room,  10  feet  by  7^,  to  serve  also  as  an  entry  for 
girls  at  recess,  or  as  a  recitation-room ;  a  space  behind  the  desks, 
8  feet  wide,  for  fireplace,  passage,  and  recitations,  with  permanent 
seats  against  the  walls  10  or  11  inches  wide;  a  platform,  7  feet 
wide,  for  the  teacher,  with  the  library,  blackboards,  globes,  and  other 
apparatus  for  teaching :  the  remaining  space  to  be  occupied  by  the 
desks  and  seats  of  the  scholars.  For  every  additional  8  scholars 
the  room  may  be  lengthened  2J-  feet.  The  desks  and  seats  for 
scholars  should  be  of  different  dimensions.  A  desk  for  two  may  be 
3£  or  4  feet  long.  If  the  younger  children  are  placed  nearest  .the 
master's  desk,  the  desks  in  the  front  range  may  be  13  inches  wide, 
the  two  next  14,  the  two  next  15,  and  the  two  most  remote  16,  with 
the  height,  respectively,  of  24,  25,  26,  and  27  inches.  The  seats 
should  vary  in  like  manner.  Those  in  the  front  range  should  be  10 
inches  wide,  in  the  two  next  lOfc,  in.  the  two  next  11,  in  the  two 
last  1H  or  12 ;  and  ISfr,  14, 15,  and  16  inches,  respectively,  high.  All 
edges  and  corners  are  to  be  carefully  rounded. 


532  THE    SCHOOLHOUSE. 

desks  be  so  placed  that  the  pupils,  as  they  sit  at  them,  shall 
look  towards  the  north.  The  advantages  of  this  arrange- 
ment are,  1.  That  the  scholars  will  obtain  more  correct 
ideas  upon  the  elements  of  geography,  as  all  maps  suppose 
the  reader  to  be  looking  northward  ;  2.  The  north  wall, 
having  no  windows,  will  exclude  the  severest  cold  of  win- 
ter;  3.  The  scholars  will,  in  this  case,  look  towards  a  dead 
wall,  and  thus  avoid  the  great  evil  of  facing  a  glare  of  light ; 
or,  if  a  window  or  two  be  allowed  in  the  north  wall,  the 
light  coming  from  that  quarter  is  less  vivid,  and,  therefore, 
less  dangerous  than  that  which  comes  from  any  other ;  4. 
The  door,  being  on  the  south,  will  open  towards  the  winds 
which  prevail  in  summer  and  from  the  cold  winds  of  winter. 

If,  from  necessity,  the  house  must  front  northward,  the 
master's  desk  should  be  still  in  the  north  end  of  the  room, 
and  the  scholars,  when  seated,  look  in  that  direction. 

The  arrangement  of  the  desks  has  often  been  made  with 
special  reference  to  the  quiet  of  the  school.  There  are 
other,  higher  objects,  which  should  be  also  provided  for. 
The  first  is  the  social  nature  of  the  child.  Two  seats 
should  be  contiguous,  that  friends  may  sit  together,  that  a 
delicate  child,  when  it  first  comes  to  school,  may  not  be 
placed  by  itself  or  among  strangers,  but  next  to  one  that  it 
already  knows  and  loves ;  that  one  may  help  another,  and 
that  the  most  advanced  may  take  care,  each  of  one  of  the 
least  advanced.  Such  arrangements  have  been  sometimes 
thought  unfavourable  to  the  utmost  amount  of  study.  I 
have  not  found  them  so ;  and,  even  if  they  were,  we  are  to 
remember  that  moral  culture  is  of  higher  importance  than 
mental. 

The  end  of  the  room  occupied  by  the  master  should  be 
fitted  with  shelves  for  a  library  and  for  philosophical  appa- 
ratus and  collections  of  natural  curiosities,  such  as  rocks, 
minerals,  plants,  and  shells,  for  globes  and  for  blackboards. 
The  books,  apparatus,  and  collections  should  be  concealed 


POSITION    AND    ARRANGEMENT.  533 

and  protected  by  doors,  which  may  be  made  perfectly  plain 
and  without  panels,  so  as  to  be  painted  black  and  serve  as 
blackboards.  They  may  be  conveniently  divided  by  pilas- 
ters into  three  portions,  the  middle  one  for  books,  the  others 
for  apparatus  and  collections.  On  one  of  the  pilasters  may 
be  the  clock  ;  on  the  other  a  barometer  and  thermometer  ; 
on  shelves  in  the  corners,  the  globes  ;  and  over  the  library, 
in  the  centre,  the  study  card.  One  of  the  pilasters  may 
form  part  of  the  ventilating  tube.  The  master's  platform 
may  be  raised  eight  inches.  For  all  these  purposes,  the 
space  in  front  of  the  ranges  of  scholars'  desks  should  be  not 
less  than  seven  or  eight  feet  wide  ;  ten  or  twelve  would  be 
much  better.  The  sides  and  front  of  this  space  should  be 
furnished  with  seats,  ten  or  eleven  inches  wide,  for  recita- 
tion. By  means  of  a  large  movable  blackboard,  this  space 
may  be,  in  case  of  need,  converted  into  two,  so  that  two 
classes  may  recite  at  a  time.  In  a  school  intended  to  ac- 
commodate more  than  64  pupils,  there  ought  also  to  be  a 
space  for  recitation  in  the  south  end  of  the  room,  separable 
by  movable  blackboards  into  two. 

The  entry  should  be  lighted  by  a  window,  and  be  fur- 
nished with  wooden  or  iron  pins  for  the  accommodation  of 
hats,  bonnets,  and  cloaks ;  and  there  should  be  a  wood- 
closet  large  enough  to  contain  two  or  three  cords  of  wood. 
This  room  may,  in  case  of  need,  be  used  as  a  recitation-room. 

By  making  the  ceiling  of  the  entry  and  wood-closet  only 
seven  feet  high,  two  commodious  rooms  for  recitation  may 
be  formed  above  them,  lighted  from  the  window  over  the 
front  door,  and  accessible  by  stairs  from  within  the  school- 
room. 

YY2 


534  THE    SSCHOOLHOUSE. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

LIGHT WARMING VENTILATION. 

1.  LIGHT. — The  windows  should  be  on  the   east  and 
west  sides  of  the  room,  on  the  right  and  left  of  the  pupils 
and  teacher.     Windows  on  the  north  admit  too  much  cold 
in  winter  ;  on  the  south,  too  intense  a  light  at  the  hour  when 
it  is  greatest.     The  eye  is  often  materially  and  permanent- 
ly injured  by  being  directly  exposed  to  strong  light ;  and  if 
the  light  come  from  behind,  the  head  and  body  interposed 
throw  the  book  into  their  shadow.     If  windows  open  to- 
wards a  road  or  any  other  object  attractive   to   children, 
they  should  be  so  high  that  the  pupil,  sitting  at  his  desk, 
cannot  look  out  upon  it.     Windows  set  high  give  a  more 
uninterrupted  light,  and  are  less  liable  to  be  broken  than 
low  ones,  and  are,  therefore,  on  the  whole,  preferable.    But 
if  the  house  be  situated  at  a  distance  from  objects  likely  to 
draw  the  children's  attention,  the  windows  may  be  at  the 
usual  cheerful  height.     In  any  case,  they  should  be  furnish- 
ed with  blinds  or  green  curtains.     They  should  be  made  to 
open  from  the  top  as  well  as  the  bottom,  so  that,  in  the  sum- 
mer season,  when  the  ventilator  will  not  act,  they  may  sup- 
ply its  place. 

2.  WARMING. — The  usual  mode  of  heating  a  room  by 
means  of  an  iron  stove  has  no  recommendation  but  its  cheap- 
ness.    It  burns  the  air,  and  renders  it  disagreeable  and  un- 
wholesome.    The  best  mode  with  reference  to  health  is  by 
a  common  open  fireplace.    By  a  little  pains  in  the  construc- 
tion, the  advantages  of  the  latter  may  be  combined  with  the 
economy  of  the  former,  and  the  room  be  at  the  same  time 
furnished  with  an  ample   supply  of  fresh,  warm  air  from 
abroad.     In  a  suitable  position,  pointed  out  in  the  plates, 
near  the  door,  let  a  common  brick  fireplace  be  built.     Let 


LIGHT — WARMING VENTILATION.  535 

this  be  enclosed,  on  the  back  and  on  each  side,  by  a  casing 
of  brick,  leaving,  between  the  fireplace  and  the  casing,  a 
space  of  four  or  five  inches,  which  will  be  heated  through  the 
back  and  jambs.  Into  this  space  let  air  be  admitted  from 
beneath  by  a  box  24  inches  wide  and  6  or  8  deep,  leading 
from  the  external  atmosphere  by  an  opening  beneath  the 
front  door,  or  at  some  other  convenient  place.  The  brick 
casing  should  be  continued  up  as  high  as  six  or  eight  inch- 
es above  the  top  of  the  fireplace,  where  it  may  open  into  the 
room  by  lateral  orifices,  to  be  commanded  by  iron  doors, 
through  which  the  heated  air  will  enter  the  room.  If  these 
are  lower,  part  of  the  warm  air  will  find  its  way  into  the  fire 
place.  The  brick  chimney  should  rise  at  least  two  or  three 
feet  above  the  hollow  back,  and  may  be  surmounted  by  a  flat 
iron,  soap-stone,  or  brick  top,  with  an  opening  for  a  smoke- 
pipe,  which  may  be  thence  conducted  to  any  part  of  the 
room.  The  smoke-pipe  should  rise  a  foot,  then  pass  to  one 
side,  and  then,  over  a  passage,  to  the  opposite  extremity  of 
the  room,  where  it  should  ascend  perpendicularly  and  is- 
sue above  the  roof.  The  fireplace  should  be  provided  with 
iron  doors,  by  which  it  may  be  completely  closed. 

The  advantages  of  this  double  fireplace  are,  1.  The  fire, 
being  made  against  brick,  imparts  to  the  air  of  the  apart- 
ment none  of  the  deleterious  qualities  which  are  produced  by 
a  common  iron  stove,  but  gives  the  pleasant  heat  of  an  open 
fireplace  ;*  2.  None  of  the  heat  of  the  fuel  will  be  lost,  as 
the  smoke-pipe  may  be  extended  far  enough  to  communicate 
nearly  all  the  heat  contained  in  the  smoke  ;  3.  The  current 
of  air  heated  within  the  hollow  back,  and  constantly  pouring 

*  The  poisonous  effects  of  hot  iron  on  air  are  not  generally  un- 
derstood. There  are  always  floating  in  the  atmosphere  minute  par- 
ticles, which  are  chiefly  carbon.  These,  coming  in  contact  with  a 
hot  iron  surface,  are  partially  converted  into  the  poisonous  carbonic 
acid  gas.  There  seem  to  be  some  other  deadening  effects  produ 
ced  on  the  air  not  so  easily  explained. 


536  THE    SCHOOLHOUSE. 

into  the  room,  will  diffuse  an  equable  heat  throughout  every 
part ;  4.  The  pressure  of  the  air  of  the  room  will  be  con- 
stantly outward,  little  cold  will  enter  by  cracks  and  win- 
dows, and  the  fireplace  will  have  no  tendency  to  smoke  ; 
5.  By  means  of  the  iron  doors,  the  fire  may  be  completely 
controlled, — increased  or  diminished  at  pleasure,  with  the 
advantages  of  an  air-tight  stove.  For  that  purpose,  there 
must  be  a  valve  or  slide  near  the  bottom  of  one  of  the  doors. 

If,  instead  of  this  fireplace,  a  common  stove  be  adopted, 
it  should  be  placed  above  the  air-passage,  which  may  be 
commanded  by  a  valve  or  register  in  the  floor,  so  as  to 
admit  or  exclude  air.  Of  the  stoves  in  use,  the  best  seems 
to  be  that  called  the  "  air-tight."  A  winter's  trial  of  one 
of  them  in  a  teacher's  room  shows  it  to  be  far  inferior  to 
the  double  fireplace  above  recommended,  and  not  essential- 
ly different  in  the  consumption  of  fuel. 

3.  VENTILATION. — A  room  warmed  by  such  a  fireplace 
as  that  just  described,  may  be  easily  ventilated.  If  a  cur- 
rent of  air  is  constantly  pouring  in,  a  current  of  the  same 
size  will  rush  out  wherever  it  can  find  an  outlet,  and  with 
it  will  carry  the  impurities  wherewith  the  air  of  an  occupied 
room  is  always  charged.  For  the  first  part  of  the  morning 
the  open  fireplace  may  suffice.  But  this,  though  a  very  ef- 
fectual, is  not  an  economical  ventilator ;  and  when  the  is- 
sue through  this  is  closed,  some  other  must  be  provided. 
The  most  effective  ventilator  for  throwing  out  foul  air,  is  one 
opening  into  a  tube  which  encloses  the  smoke-flue  at  the 
point  where  it  passes  through  the  roof.  Warm  air  natural- 
ly rises.  If  a  portion  of  the  smoke-flue  be  enclosed  by  a 
tin  tube,  it  will  warm  the  air  within  this  tube,  and  give  it  a 
tendency  to  rise.  If,  then,  a  wooden  tube,  opening  near 
the  floor,  be  made  to  communicate,  by  its  upper  extremity, 
with  the  tin  tube,  an  upward  current  will  take  place  in  it 
which  will  always  act  whenever  the  smoke-Jlue  is  warm* 

*  There  is  a  difficulty  in  ventilation  as  it  is  often  managed 


LIGHT — WARMING— VENTILATION.  537 

It  is  better,  but  not  absolutely  essential,  that  the  opening 
into  the  wooden  tube  be  near  the  floor.  The  carbonic  acid 
thrown  out  by  the  lungs  rises,  with  the  warm  breath,  and 
the  perspirable  matter  from  the  skin,  with  the  warm,  invisi- 
ble vapour,  to  the  top  of  the  room.  There  both  soon  cool, 
and  sink  towards  the  floor ;  and  both  carbonic  air  and  the 
vapour  bearing  the  perspirable  matter  are  pretty  rapidly  and 
equally  diffused  through  every  part  of  the  room.*  It  mat- 
ters not,  therefore,  from  what  part  of  the  room  the  outlet  is 
made,  as  from  every  part,  probably,  an  equal  amount  of  foul 
matter  will  be  thrown  out.  If  it  be  from  a  point  near  the 
floor,  it  will  be  accompanied  with  less  heat,  and  it  will,  at 
the  same  time,  increase  the  tendency  of  the  warm  air  above 
to  diffuse  itself  through  the  space  below. 

The  best  possible  ventilator  is  an  open  fireplace.  Many 
schoolrooms  were  originally  constructed  with  a  fireplace, 
which,  from  the  superior  economy  of  a  stove,  has  been 
closed  up,  and  the  smoke-pipe  has  been  made  to  enter  into 
the  upper  part  of  the  chimney.  Where  this  is  the  case,  a 
most  efficient  ventilator  may  be  secured  by  partially  open- 
ing the  fireplace  near  the  hearth,  and  commanding  the  ori* 
fice  by  a  slide  of  wood  or  metal.  The  opening  of  the  ven- 

Where  no  warm  air  is  admitted,  an  opening  made  for  the  purpose 
of  letting  out  foul  air  is  just  as  likely  to  let  air  in  ;  or,  if  the  open-- 
ing  is  a  single  one,  two  currents  will  be  established  in  it,  one  out- 
ward, the  other  inward,  and  neither  of  them  active.  A  ventilator 
opening  into  an  attic  is  often  quite  inefficient. 

*  This  diffusion,  from  the  mutual  penetration  of  gases,  is  often 
lost  sight  of.  Turner  says,  "  One  gas  acts  as  a  vacuum  with  re- 
spect to  another ;  and,  therefore,  if  a  vessel  full  of  carbonic  acid  gas 
be  made  to  communicate  with  another  of  hydrogen,  the  particles  of 
each  gas  insinuate  themselves  between  the  particles  of  the  other, 
till  they  are  equally  diffused  through  both  vessels The  ulti- 
mate effect  ...  is  the  same  as  if  the  vessel  of  hydrogen  had  been 
a  vacuum." — See  Turner's  Chemistry,  4/A  Am.  Edition,  p.  162.  See, 
also,  Manchester's  Memoirs,  vol.  v.,  for  Dalton's  original  investigations 
on  this  subject. 


538  THE    SCI1OOLHOUSE. 

tilator  should  in  any  case  be  not  less  than  12  inches  square, 
and,  in  the  case  in  question,  it  should  be  near  the  master's 
seat,  not  far  from  the  floor,  two  feet  long  and  eight  inches 
high,  and  open  into  a  box  in  the  wall  of  these  dimensions, 
or  at  least  24  inches  by  six,  extending  to  the  ceiling, 
where  it  should  communicate  with  the  tin  box  enclosing 
the  smoke-pipe.  If  the  building  have  two  stories,  the  ven- 
tilator tubes  must  be  carried  from  the  lower,  upward,  with- 
in the  wall,  and  communicate  in  the  upper  ceiling  with  the 
tin  box.  The  supply  of  fresh  air  for  the  upper  room  should 
then  be  brought  in  from  the  side  of  the  house  between  two 
joists  in  the  floor,  and  open  beneath  the  stove  or  behind  the 
fireplace. 

This  mode  of  ventilation  will  be  found  much  more  eco- 
nomical, as  well  as  more  certain,  than  a  usual  mode  of  ma- 
king openings  into  an  attic  which  has  windows  into  the 
atmosphere.  In  the  latter,  you  have  a  flight  of  stairs  to 
the  attic,  an  attic  floor  and  two  windows ;  in  the  other,  a 
wooden  tube  12  feet  long,  and  a  tin  one  four  or  five  feet 
long :  the  attic  being  left  unfinished,  or,  what  would  be 
better,  having  the  ceiling  of  the  schoolroom  arched,  to  em- 
brace a  part  of  the  space  of  the  attic. 

The  details  of  construction  will  be  given  in  the  explana- 
tion of  the  plates 


SCHOOL    FOR    FORTY-EIGHT    PUPILS. 


24  feet  by  28  feet  outside.] 


D.  Entrance  door. 

E.  Entry. 

F.  Fireplace. 

C.  Wood  closet,  or  recitation  room. 

T.  Teacher's  platform. 

a.  Apparatus  shelves. 

t.  Air  tube  beneath  the  floor. 

d.  Doors. 

e    Globes. 


I.  Library  shelve*. 

m.  Master's  table  and  seat 

p.  Passages. 

r.  Recitation  seats. 

».  Scholars'  desks  and  seats. 

v.  Ventilator. 

M.  Windows. 

6.  Movable  blackboard. 

a  *.  Air  space  behind  the  fireplace 


51  feet  by  31  feet  outside.]  [.Scale  8  feet  to  the  inch. 

D.  Entrance  door.  E.  Entry.  F.  Fireplace.  C.  Wood  closet.  T.  Teacher's  platform,  a.  Appara- 
tus shelves,  t.  Air  tube  beneath  the  floor,  d.  Doors,  g.  Globes.  I.  Library  shelves,  m.  Master's  ta- 
ble ami  se:it.  ;).  Passages,  r.  Recitation  seats,  s.  Scholars'  desks  and  seats,  r  s.  Stairs  to  recitation 
rooms  inthe  attic,  v. 'Ventilator,  w.  Windows.  4.  Movable  blackboard,  a  s.  Air  space  behind  the 
fireplace. 


FIREPLACE. 


[Scale  4  feet  to  the  inch. 


A.  Horizontal  section.  g.  Openings  on  the  sides  of  the  fireplace 

B.  Perpendicular  section.  for  the  heated  air  to  pass  into  the  room. 

c.  Brick  walls,  4  inches  thick.  h.  Front  of  the  fireplace  and  mantelpiece. 

d.  Air  space  between  the  walls.  t.  Iron  smoke  flue,  8  inches  diameter. 

e.  Solid  fronts  of  masonry.  j.  Space  between  the  fireplace  and  wall. 
/.  Air  box  for  supply  of  fresh  air,  extend-  k.  Partition  wall. 

ing  beneath  the  floor  to  the  front  door.  I.  Floor. 


VENTILATING  APPARATUS 


[Scale  4  feet  to  the  inch. 


A..  Air  box,  1  foot  square,  or  24  inches  by  6,  covered  by  the  pilaster,  and  opening  at  the  floor,  in  the 
base  of  the  pilaster. 

B.  Round  iron  tube,  15£  inches  in  diameter,  being  a  continuation  of  the  air  box,  through  the  centre 
of  which  passes, 

C.  The  smoke  flue,  8  inches  diameter 
D    Caps  to  keep  out  the  rain 


BLACKBOARD. 


APPENDIX. 


DESCRIPTION   OF  AN   OCTAGONAL   SCHOOLHOUSE, 

FURNISHED  FOB  THIS  WORK  BY  MESSRS.  TOWN  AND   DAVIS,  ARCHITECTS, 
NEW-YORK. 

THIS  design  for  a  schoolhouse  intends  to  exhibit  a  model  of  fitness 
and  close  economy.  It  differs  from  a  design  published  by  the  Com- 
mon School  Society  of  New- York,  in  being  made  more  simple,  with- 
out the  belfry,  and  complete  in  the  octagon  form.  It  is  also  similar 
to  a  design  published  by  the  Connecticut  Board  of  Commissioners  of 
Common  Schools.  The  principles  of  fitness  are  the  same  in  both, 
viz. :  1.  Ample  dimensions,  with  very  nearly  the  least  possible  length 
of  wall  for  its  enclosure,  the  roof  being  constructed  without  tie 
beams,  the  upper  and  lower  ends  of  the  rafters  being  held  by  the 
wall  plates  and  frame  at  the  foot  of  the  lantern.  The  ceiling  may 
show  the  timber- work  of  the  roof,  or  it  may  be  plastered.  2.  Light, 
a  uniform  temperature,  and  a  free  ventilation,  secured  by  a  lantern 
light,  thus  avoiding  lateral  windows  (except  for  air  in  summer),  and 
gaining  wall-room  for  blackboards,  maps,  models,  and  illustrations. 
Side  windows  are  shown  in  the  view,  and  may  be  made  an  addition 
by  those  who  doubt  the  efficiency  of  the  lantern  light.  (The  lantern 
is  not  only  best  for  light,  but  it  is  essential  for  a  free  ventilation.) 
With  such  a  light,  admitted  equally  to  all  the  desks,  there  will  be  no 
inconvenience  from  shadows.  The  attention  of  the  scholars  will 
not  be  distracted  by  occurrences  or  objects  out  of  doors.  There  will 
be  less  expense  for  broken  glass,  as  the  sashes  will  be  removed  from 
ordinary  accidents.  The  room,  according  to  this  plan,  is  heated  by 
a  fire  in  the  centre,  either  in  a  stove  or  grate,  with  a  pipe  going  di- 
rectly through  the  roof  of  the  lantern,  and  finishing  outside  in  a  sheet- 
iron  vase  or  other  appropriate  cap.  The  pipe  can  be  tastefully  fash- 
ioned, with  a  hot-air  chamber  near  the  floor,  so  as  to  afford  a  large 
radiating  surface  before  the  heat  is  allowed  to  escape.  This  will 
secure  a  uniform  temperature  in  every  part  of  the  room,  at  the  same 
time  that  the  inconvenience  from  a  pipe  passing  directly  over  the 
heads  of  children  is  avoided.  The  octagonal  shape  will  admit  of  any 
number  of  seats  and  desks  (according  to  the  size  of  the  room),  ar- 
ranged parallel  with  the  sides,  constructed  as  described  in  specifica- 
tion, or  on  such  principles  as  may  be  preferred.  The  master's  seat 
may  be  in  the  centre  of  the  room,  and  the  seats  be  so  constructed 
that  the  scholars  may  sit  with  their  backs  to  the  centre,  by  which 
their  attention  will  not  be  diverted  by  facing  other  scholars  on  the 
opposite  side,  and  yet  so  that  at  times  they  may  all  face  the  master, 
and  the  whole  school  be  formed  into  one  class.  The  lobby  next  to 
the  front  door  is  made  large  (8  by  20),  so  that  it  may  serve  for  a  re- 
citation-room. This  lobby  is  to  finish  eight  feet  high,  the  inside  wall 


550  APPENDIX. 

to  show  like  a  screen,  not  rising  to  the  roof,  and  the  space  above  be 
open  to  the  schoolroom,  and  used  to  put  away  or  station  school  ap- 
paratus. This  screen-like  wall  may  be  hung  with  hats  and  clothes, 
or  the  triangular  space  next  the  window  may  be  enclosed  for  this 
purpose.  The  face  of  the  octagon  opposite  to  the  porch  has  a  wood- 
house  attached  to  it,  serving  as  a  sheltered  way  to  a  double  privy 
beyond.  This  woodhouse  is  open  on  two  sides,  to  admit  of  a  cross 
draught  of  air,  preventing  the  possibility  of  a  nuisance.  Other  wing- 
rooms  may  be  attached  to  the  remaining  sides  of  the  octagon,  if 
additional  conveniences  for  closets,  library,  or  recitation-rooms  be 
desired. 

The  mode  here  suggested,  of  a  lantern  in  the  centre  of  the  roof 
for  lighting  all  common  schoolhouses,  is  so  great  a  change  from 
common  usage  in  our  country,  that  it  requires  full  and  clear  expla- 
nations for  its  execution,  and  plain  and  satisfactory  reasons  for  its 
general  adoption,  and  of  its  great  excellence  in  preference  to  the 
common  mode.  They  are  as  follows,  viz. : 

1.  A  skylight  is  well  known  to  be  far  better  and  stronger  than 
light  from  the  sides  of  buildings  in  cloudy  weather,  and  in  morning 
and  evening.    The  difference  is  of  the  greatest  importance.    In  short 
days  (the  most  used  for  schools)  it  is  still  more  so. 

2.  The  light  is  far  better  for  all  kinds  of  study  than  side  light,  from 
its  quiet  uniformity  and  equal  distribution. 

3.  For  smaller  houses,  the  lantern  may  be  square,  a  simple  form 
easily  constructed.     The  sides,  whether  square  or  octagonal,  should 
incline  like  the  drawing,  but  not  so  much  as  to  allow  water  con- 
densed on  its  inside  to  drop  off,  but  run  down  on  the  inside  to  the 
bottom,  which  should  be  so  formed  as  to  conduct  it  out  by  a  small 
aperture  at  each  bottom  pane  of  glass. 

4.  The  glass  required  to  light  a  schoolroom  equally  well  with  side 
lights  would  be  double  what  would  be  required  here,  and  the  lantern 
would  be  secure  from  common  accidents,  by  which  a  great  part  of 
the  glass  is  every  year  broken. 

5.  The  strong  propensity  which  scholars  have  to  look  out  by  a 
side  window  would  be  mostly  prevented,  as  the  shutters  to  side 
apertures  would  only  be  opened  when  the  warm  weather  would  re- 
quire it  for  air,  but  never  in  cool  weather,  and  therefore  no  glass 
would  be  used.     The  shutters  being  made  very  tight,  by  corking,  in 
winter,  would  make  the  schoolroom  much  warmer  than  has  been 
common  ;  and,  being  so  well  ventilated,  and  so  high  in  the  centre,  it 
would  be  more  healthy. 

f>.  The  stove,  furnace,  or  open  grate,  being  in  the  centre  of  the 
room,  has  great  advantages,  from  diffusing  the  heat  to  all  parts,  and 
equally  to  all  the  scholars  ;  it  also  admits  the  pipe  to  go  perpendicu- 
larly up,  without  any  inconvenience,  and  it  greatly  facilitates  the 
ventilation,  and  the  retention  or  escape  of  heat,  by  means  of  the  sli- 
ding cap  above. 

Construction. — Foundation  of  hard  stone,  laid  with  mortar  ;  the 

TO  superstructure  framed  and  covered  with   li   plank, 

i  tongued,  grooved,  and  put  on  vertically,  with  a  fillet, 
'  chamfered  at  the  edges,  over  the  joint,  as  here  shown. 
In  our  view,  a  rustic  character  is  given  to  the  design 


APPENDIX. 


551 


by  covering  the  sides  with  slabs ;  the  curved  side  out,  tongued,  and 
grooved,  without  a  fillet  over  the  joint ;  or  formed  of  logs  placed  ver- 
tically, and  lathed  and  plastered  on  the  inside.  The  sides  diminish 
slightly  upward.  A  rustic  porch  is  also  shown,  the  columns  of  cedar 
boles,  with  vines  trained  upon  them.  The  door  is  battened,  with 
braces  upon  the  outside,  curved  as  shown,  with  a  strip  around  the 
edge.  It  is  four  feet  wide,  seven  high,  in  two  folds,  one  half  to  be 
used  in  inclement  weather.  The  cornice  projects  two  feet  six  inch- 
es, better  to  defend  the  boarding  ;  and  may  show  the  ends  of  the 
rafters.  Roof  covered  with  tin,  slate,  or  shingles.  Dripping  eaves 
are  intended,  without  gutters.  The  roof  of  an  octagonal  building  of 
ordinary  dimensions  may  with  ease  and  perfect  safety  be  constructed 
without  tie  beams  or  a  garret  floor  (which  is,  in  all  cases  of  school- 
houses,  waste  room,  very  much  increasing  the  exposure  to  fire,  as 
well  as  the  expense).  The  wall-plates,  in  this  case,  become  ties, 
and  must  be  well  secured,  so  as  to  form  one  connected  hoop,  capable 
of  counteracting  the  pressure  outward  of  the  angular  rafters.  The 
sides  of  the  roof  will  abut  at  top  against  a  similar  timber  octagonal 
frame,  immediately  at  the  foot  of  the  lantern  cupola.  This  frame 
must  be  sufficient  to  resist  the  pressure  inward  of  the  roof  (which  is 
greater  or  less,  as  the  roof  is  more  or  less  inclined  in  its  pitch),  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  tie-plates  must  resist  the  pressure  outward. 
This  security  is  given  in  an  easy  and  cheap  manner ;  and  may  be 
given  entirely  by  the  roof  boarding,  if  it  is  properly  nailed  to  the  an- 
gular rafters,  and  runs  horizontally  round  the  roof.  By  this  kind  of 
roof,  great  additional  height  is  given  to  the  room  by  camp-ceiling ; 
that  is,  by  planing  the  rafters  and  roof-boards,  or  by  lathing  and 
plastering  on  a  thin  half-inch  board  ceiling,  immediately  on  the  un- 
derside of  the  rafters,  as  may  be  most  economically  performed 
This  extra  height  in  the  centre  will  admit  of  low  side-walls,  from 
seven  to  ten  feet  in  the  clear,  according  to  the  size  and  importance 
of  the  building,  and,  at  the  same  time,  by  the  most  simple  principle 
of  philosophy,  conduct  the  heated 
foul  air  up  to  the  central  aperture, 
which  should  be  left  open  quite  round 
the  pipe  of  the  stove,  or  open  grate 
standing  in  the  centre  of  the  room. 
This  aperture  and  cap,  with  the  ven- 
tilator, is  shown  by  the  figure  ad- 
joining, which  is  to  a  scale  of  half 
an  inch  to  a  foot.  The  ventilator  is 
drawn  raised,  and  the  dotted  lines 
show  it  let  down  upon  the  roof.  It 
may  be  of  any  required  size,  say  two 
feet  wide  and  twelve  inches  high, 
sliding  up  and  down  between  the 
stovepipe  and  an  outward  case,  form- 
ing a  cap  to  exclude  water.  This 
cap  may  be  pushed  up  or  let  down  by 
a  rod  affixed  to  the  under  edge,  and  j 
lying  against  the  smokepipe. 

In  the  design  given,  the  side-walls  are  ten  feet  high,  and  the  Ian- 


552  APPENDIX. 

tern  fifteen  feet  above  the  floor ;  eight  feet  in  diameter,  four  feet 
high.  The  sashes  may  open  for  additional  ventilation,  if  required, 
by  turning  on  lateral  pivots,  regulated  by  cords  attached  to  the  edges 
above.  The  breadth  of  each  desk  is  seventeen  inches,  with  a  shelf 
beneath  for  books,  and  an  opening  in  the  back  to  receive  a  slate. 
The  highest  desks  are  twenty-seven  inches,  inclined  to  thirty,  and 
the  front  forms  the  back  of  the  seat  before  it.  The  seat  is  ten  to 
twelve  inches  wide,  fifteen  high,  and  each  pupil  is  allowed  a  space 
of  two  feet  side  to  side. 

I.  TOWN  AND  ALEX.  J.  DAVIS,  Architects, 

No.  93  Merchants'  Exchange,  N.  Y. 
For  the  sake  of  variety,  we  have  given  a  design  in  the  pointed 

style,  revised  from  a  sketch  by ,  an  amateur  in  architecture. 

Any  rectangular  plan  will  suit  it ;  and  the  principles  of  light  and 
ventilation  dwelt  upon  in  the  description  of  the  octagon  design,  may 
be  adapted  to  this.  The  principal  light  is  from  one  large  mullioned 
window  in  the  rear  end.  The  side  openings  are  for  air  in  summer — 
not  glazed,  but  closed  with  tight  shutters.  The  same  ventilating 
cap  is  shown,  and  height  is  gained  in  the  roof  by  framing  with  collar 
beams  set  up  four  or  five  feet  above  the  eaves.  The  sides,  if  not  of 
brick  or  stone,  may  be  boarded  vertically,  as  before  described.  The 
porch  may  be  of  any  convenient  size  to  shelter  the  door  of  a  recita- 
tion room,  through  which  may  be  the  passage  to  the  schoolroom 
One  end  of  the  recitation  room  may  be  partitioned  off"  for  a  book 
room,  and  one  opening  on  each  side  may  be  glazed  for  light. 

I.  T.  AND  A.  J.  D 


THE   END. 


K^;    y  cf  CALIFORNIA 
AT 

LUS  A/^'iK- 
LIBRA  KY 


3  115801093  1425 


